So Awesome
by CaskettFan5
Summary: This little ficlet was inspired by some of the superhero stories on the site a while back. I figured I'd try the genre too. If you don't remember the superhero stories, that's just how slow of a writer I am.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: not mine (as if…)

 _This is the perfect one. She is strong enough and doesn't realize that she is losing her baby yet._

 _Are you sure that she is strong enough?_

 _Once our child joins with one of them our child will thrive on this planet no matter what, you know that._

 _They seem so fragile._

 _Only compared to us. They may not be the best stewards of their planet but they have conquered it and some day may be as advanced as we are._

 _We made mistakes too, which is why we are here._

 _Our time grows short but the time for her baby is even shorter, we have little choice. If our child does not merge with hers soon, neither will live. Our child is little enough to join with them, something that we cannot do._

 _Agreed. Do it._

 _Look, our child shares energy with her. She will have no problems with the pregnancy._

 _Oh how I wish we could watch our child grow._

 _No more than I. Our time grows short but we can remain with her for what little time we have left._

 _You did well, our child has merged with hers seamlessly. By the time they are both aware, they will see themselves as one._

 _She will never know the difference._

 _But our child will._

 _Yes, our child will sense some difference but may never believe it or embrace it._

 _What if she sees the difference?_

 _She will see our child as her own; she will love our child and protect it. You can see how determined she is to be a mother._

 _I do. I just worry._

 _As do I, dearest. As do I._

 _Will our child ever find a mate on this planet?_

 _It will be difficult but it is possible. There are some strong enough. Look at her, she would have been strong enough._

 _It will require great love._

 _Yes but if our child is anything like you, there will be love enough._

 _Flatterer._

 _I but speak the truth._

 _I love you._

 _I love you too._

A/N: I'm trying new things. First, shorter chapters and second changing the POV every chapter. Most of the chapters will be from Rick or Kate's POV but the prologue and epilogue will be someone else.


	2. Becoming Castle

A/N: I know the prologue was a little weird and short but that was on purpose. Rick and Kate meet at the end of this chapter. Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews and follows/favorites.

The first time wasn't his fault. Really. He saw his friend Timmy being bullied by a bigger kid so he got in between them. The bigger kid hit him hard in the nose and it hurt – a lot and it made a funny noise too. He pushed him back in reaction and the bigger kid just started crying. When they'd finally faced a teacher, his nose felt better and it was the other kid who looked like he'd lost. Ricky got a timeout and they sent his mother a note. She was very disappointed but he wasn't sure what he'd done wrong.

Three years later, Ricky was starting his third school. He knew this couldn't continue from the look on his mother's face alone. He was also tired of winning the fights but losing the war. They were still in their school and he was the one who had to leave. Fine. He'd ignore them and since he wasn't good at telling the good kids from the bad he'd ignore them all. If they didn't know him and he ignored them, eventually they'd ignore him back. He'd do well in school, he had promised his mother plus it was so easy anyway.

He was smarter, faster and stronger than any other kid he'd ever met. He knew he was different and if he let them in, they'd know it too. He'd keep them all away and he could stay. He could make his mother smile with his report cards and everything would be fine. They might mark him down for class participation but you can't have everything, right?

Three years later, school was boring and lonely but he loved the library. Books were his refuge and he always had one with him. The trouble was he read them so fast they never lasted long. The librarian had been curious why he returned them so quickly but he just shrugged it off, he was getting pretty good a deflecting people. He'd stuck with nonfiction mostly, the fiction they gave him at school was boring.

Today was different though. Today a strange man had given him a book called Casino Royale. It was fiction but it was good fiction. This was more like it, not just a book to read but a book to read and think about. He also started coming up with his own stories of spies. Maybe these fiction books weren't so bad after all.

The man was odd though, he'd not noticed him before but ignoring people meant you weren't very observant. He'd have to pay more attention as the man had seemed different to him. The man had tried to make it seem like an accident that they'd met and giving him the book was but a whim but that didn't seem right to Rick. There was something strange about that man. Something the man was hiding but Rick had no idea what it might be.

He didn't see the man again until the silly little graduation they did for sixth grade. He was going to middle school next year. Big deal. He had six more years of this before he could do what he wanted. His vision and hearing seemed better than anyone else's too. He kept an eye on the man and he didn't seem to notice. He was wearing a disguise but Rick saw right through it. The disguise thing was odd though. As far as Rick knew, only a cop, a criminal or a spy would need one. He was so far back he wouldn't be hiding from him, he wouldn't think Rick that could see him well. The man stayed annoyingly silent so Rick learned little from the encounter although the man seemed to have a proud smile when it was Rick's turn on the stage. It was then that he wondered if the man could be his missing father. He looked at his mother in the audience and she seemed blissfully unaware of the odd man.

They'd been annoyingly observant so he didn't get to follow the man. He accepted the congratulations of his mother and pretended to be happy. He may not be the actor that his mother was but he could fool people much of the time.

Sure enough the man showed up for eighth grade graduation but he had planned ahead and managed to disappear with his mother thinking he was with friends (as if he had some of those). He managed to follow him to the subway but he'd had to enter a different car as the man was just too damn observant for Rick's good. He managed to lose him when he took a cab. It was just too hard to run after the cab and not be noticed. Even he couldn't do that.

The man showed up for High School graduation but by then Rick didn't care. If the man was his father, he certainly wasn't willing to assume the role properly. He had set him on the path of what he decided he was going to do to earn a living though. He was going to be an author and apply his love of books to something that would earn him money. Best of all, it was something he could do alone.

Things changed in college. People seemed more accepting of differences and he wasn't the only good student anymore. He finally started to open up and had a few friends. He still kept some of his abilities private though. He knew better than to push his luck by then. He even had his first girlfriend and for a time it seemed like it might get serious. However, something held him back as deep down he had some doubts about it working out. When Kyra left for Europe, it was almost a relief. Only almost though because it was still a rejection, an ending.

He seriously miscalculated at the end of college though. He ended up being Valedictorian! After keeping such a low profile in school it was a bit of a shock. He'd already had a book published by then so it wasn't a big surprise that he could write a speech but the ovation at the end almost made it worth it. Almost. He felt too exposed, like someone would see how different he was. He deliberately didn't look for the odd man, he didn't care if he was around or not.

He had thought that getting an inside look at the CIA would be exciting and help him spice up his books. Instead, it turned into one of the most disturbing and depressing things in his life. He hadn't thought he would get that look inside until suddenly they let him in. Of all the people to give him to follow, it seemed like horrible luck that he would end up with Sophia Turner.

Sure, she was attractive and for some reason she wanted to seduce him but he got a bad vibe from her from the beginning. It took him a while but he was finally able to glean enough from her mind to realize he was in a bad situation. She was a mole in the CIA and that odd man was his father and he is the one who got him in. It took a long month for him to get enough to turn her in and he refused to be beholden to the man who didn't care to be a real father to him.

He arranged to get a message to him after Sophia's arrest and basically shamed him into providing a CIA contact for questions. He ended up with two, one in Langley and he got a way to contact his father as well. He promised to respond to any request but Rick was reluctant to accept his help. The separate offer of a job in the CIA was politely declined. He'd had enough of the real CIA, he'd concentrate on the cooler fictional version he could put in his books.

It wasn't quite what he planned but he ended up with a double life of sorts. He wrote under the pen name Malcolm Reynolds but only published serious literature and revealed nothing of himself in that persona, no book signings, no pictures and not much money either. He had developed a respect for the writings of Edgar Allen Poe so took the middle name of Edgar and changed his last name to Castle. He wrote fiction, mainly murder mysteries, and did the whole nine yards with that persona. Pictures, book signings, release parties and even occasional appearances on page six as orchestrated by his publicist/agent, Paula.

Fame and fortune were his as Richard Castle but it was never truly satisfying. He considered his works under his other name as more important but got little public notice of that. He felt like he was letting everyone down by playing it so safe. Usually, his abilities were barely utilized. He could be a superhero if such things existed in real life. Instead, he was an author who mainly hid away from the world. The only one he truly let into his life was his mother who already knew most of his secrets and probably suspected the rest. He had not been as circumspect as a young child, she probably had seen enough to know he was different but it never seemed to matter to her. With his mother, he could be himself.

His mother did despair over one thing though, his lack of interest in having a real relationship with a woman. She'd even tried setting him up with a man in case that was the issue but he firmly told her that he was indeed attracted to women. He just hadn't met the right one yet. He'd tried pointing out his time with Kyra but even with his storytelling skills, he couldn't sell it as a serious attempt at having a permanent relationship. Deep down, he knew he had never really committed to that relationship.

Things got so bad that he'd decided to kill off Derek Storm, just to force himself out of what he saw as rather meaningless rut. Only after badgering by Gina and to a lesser extent his mother, he left him only gravely wounded at the end of the novel. Who knew, maybe someday he'd want to continue that story after all. It was at the book release party for that novel that his world got turned upside down and nothing seemed the same again.


	3. The Shadow

A/N: Just to make it clear, Rick met Meredith but he was much more reserved and he wasn't impressed with her antics so he didn't get involved with her so there is no Alexis. Thanks for the reviews, PMs and follows. Just in case somebody thinks I own the characters, I am only borrowing them for some fun.

It was all rather stunning actually. She was giving the eulogy at her captain's funeral and had in fact just looked at her partner when he was suddenly tackling her to the ground and yelling 'sniper'. After an inquiry as to whether she was alright that she managed to nod to, he was off again. She was sitting up and staring at the divots left in the ground from his quick departure. It wasn't muddy but somehow he had left divots in the hard sod of the cemetery.

She stood up and saw that most of the crowd was still in disarray but Esposito was running off towards Castle in the distance who seemed to be standing over a man, presumably the sniper. Ryan and Lanie were trying to make sure everyone was OK and she gave a thumbs up to Lanie when she glanced over at her while helping someone who seemed a bit dizzy. She saw Martha who gave her a seemingly unconcerned wave and smile. How could she be so calm?

She'd known since she had met him that Richard Castle was a very private man with secrets. She'd tried to push him to open up occasionally although she felt like a bit of a hypocrite for it. She had opened up to him eventually and he had seemed to open up for the most part. Those divots and his astonishing speed needed some explaining though. He liked to tease her with outlandish theories at times but she could only envision one of his wildest theories as an explanation for what he had just done.

She had put up a token resistance to his presence at first, mainly since he made her so nervous. He affected her like no man had ever affected her. When he turned to her at the release party it was all she could do to introduce herself and state why she wanted to talk to him. The attraction had been instant and inescapable. She don't know how she had managed to keep her distance as long as she had but when he had invited her to visit his place in the Hamptons, she had dumped Demming as fast as she could and accepted. Although they had kept it platonic until her last visit that summer, that kiss when they said goodbye the last time had affected her deeply. She thought her attraction might fade but that kiss only made it more intense. She'd had to concede that this wasn't a crush, he could very well be her one and done.

It had been a bit of a shock to her that Rick wanted to take things slowly. Normally it was her boyfriends who wanted to make things intimate first so it was rather new to her that Rick was – not reluctant exactly, careful seemed to be a better word. It had been flattering in a way, it was proof he wasn't after a conquest. However, she was very glad that period was over, the sex was fantastic. After so much time trying to get justice for her mother she was really torn on which mystery was more important: her mother's murder or her boyfriend.

At first, he just seemed eerily bright. He seemed to know everything and almost everyone and almost everyone he knew owed him a favor. That undercover date she'd had with him had been an eye-opening experience as some of his acquaintances related stories of how Castle had helped them and urged her 'to keep a hold of him'. She had already inclined to do that but that was her first hint that he might have more secrets than she did. She hadn't been there but Lanie reported how confident but controlled Castle was when the men stopped them and stole the body. It had been as if he could have done something but restrained himself. That was just a preview of her observing much the same thing.

One thing that had helped her realize she had a chance with him was his reaction to his old flame (and later she learned it had been his only serious relationship). He had avoided Kyra but she had fond memories of him and some regrets. Her telling Kate that he was all hers now had been a telling moment for her. It also helped that Rick had shown no interest in the message from the top 10 bachelorette and she had fun teasing him about the article linking them. Deep down, she didn't mind at all although the teasing she got from other officers was annoying.

Her first taste of him holding back is how he had taken down Coonan so easily and thoroughly when Coonan had realized they knew he was the killer. Unfortunately, he had died in prison somewhat suspiciously when it had begun to seem he might crack. How had he done that? Coonan was a trained and experienced killer but he'd seemed to have no chance against Rick.

What was even harder to ignore is how he had saved her from the bomb in her apartment. The way he dragged her away so quickly when they heard the voice and he placed himself between her and the bomb after shutting the bathroom door had been amazing. She was never sure but she suspected that the door hadn't been needed, he'd seemed so strong and sure as if the bomb was no threat to him.

Again, she wasn't there but he'd had no trouble taking 3XK down and Ryan had been impressed with Castle's speed. By then they were already a couple so she didn't push. On the Subbarao case he'd reacted oddly to the flash but managed to fight off two men with syringes by himself and forcing them to flee. It was unsettling when they asked odd questions about Castle at the end. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who wondered what he was hiding but obviously, she couldn't help them.

Then there was the undercover kiss. She still can't believe that she'd let herself get distracted so much that it was Rick who took down the guard (with one punch) instead of her. He even managed to take down two of the men inside when they rescued Ryan and Esposito. Then he somehow kept them warm in that freezer until they were rescued. Again he'd looked frustrated as if he could have done something more.

Then there was defusing the dirty bomb. She couldn't help thinking that he had somehow analyzed the bomb and _knew_ pulling the wires would work. It was funny to put it off as luck but she wasn't so sure. Then there was the night in LA when they had finally become intimate. She kept that bathing suit for future use, she was pretty sure that was what finally got her into his bed.

Then there were the events that led them here. Castle almost foiling the escape from the arraignment was another sign of unknown ability but it still nearly spiraled into a huge argument that only was defused by her first admission that she loved him when she feared she might lose him.

He acted very strangely when he came with her to the hangar. All he'd say is that there was something he had promised Montgomery that he wouldn't tell but that he'd do his best to make things right. She had no idea what he meant but it was one shock after another until it was all over and Montgomery was dead. Her only hint was when Rick apparently repeated an offer to help him but Montgomery refused and told him to take her away if he wanted to protect her.

She'd tried to resist as he carried her away but those hard muscles were too much for her, she had no chance like others before her. She felt lucky that he was protecting her rather than against her although it was hard for her to be forced to wait until the shooting stopped. He'd gone with her and preceded her in and checked everyone before she could. They were all dead.

During all of this introspection, Castle and Esposito had returned with their suspect. He looked barely conscious with an obvious punch to the face and Esposito was grim as he held a sniper rifle in his gloved hands. Castle was right and he'd taken down another one of the bad guys. She gave him a look that said 'we have to talk' and she was amazed at how this confident, competent man could be reduced to embarrassed looks down with just a hint of her mood. Although he had expressed his feelings to her often, it was still sweet to see how she affected him. It wouldn't get him out of the talk this time though.


	4. Enough is Enough

A/N: Thanks for the continuing support of my story. Starting with this chapter, the story stays in the present with no long summaries about the past.

He really wanted to be mad at Roy Montgomery for putting him in this mess. However, the man was dead after sacrificing himself and Rick had demanded the knowledge that now weighed him down as the price for helping him save Kate. It had been a bluff of course, he couldn't conceive of not saving Kate but Roy had at least pretended to believe him. Roy had told him a lot but omitted the most important part, who was 'the dragon'? That was a secret that Roy insisted he had to take to the grave for Kate's sake.

He not only had to face that but he had to trust this unidentified friend of Roy's to keep a new deal in place. Roy thought his friend would contact him but he'd heard nothing yet. In the meantime Rick planned to keep a vigil to protect Kate and thanks to them being a couple, 24/7 protection was possible. That was how he found himself standing near Kate as she gave her speech and he had all of his senses on full alert. That sniper had no chance of remaining undetected.

It was agony for him, but he waited until the man was squeezing the trigger before he moved. He needed that shot to be fired but he couldn't allow it anywhere near Kate. He pulled her as gently out of harm's way as he could while still doing it quickly enough. He certainly didn't want to hurt her while saving her. As soon as he knew she was fine he was after the man. He couldn't do anything about his anger about this situation he was in but he could do something to protect Kate and find out who this 'dragon' was. It was unacceptable to him that someone could mean harm to Kate and remain undetected. Whoever this 'dragon' was, he would do his best to make him regret ever hearing of Kate Beckett. This 'dragon' had no idea what Rick could do.

The sniper paid no attention to him, he was wiping the gun and preparing to ditch it when he suddenly became aware of the danger he was in. The man barely had time to begin to try to block Rick's punch but even if he'd reacted quicker, he had no chance of blocking the punch. He had to restrain himself from making it a fatal blow. He wanted this man alive. He knew he had to take advantage of his head start and put his hands on the man's head and tried to glean what he could. It always seemed somewhat hit or miss as to what he could get from someone's mind. He ignored most of the flashes of memory as useless but he did get some names. One was his employer Arantus Solutions and two were names that applied to him: Cedric Marks and Cole Maddox. He thinks the latter name is just an alias but he isn't sure but at least he has something to go on. He stood up as he heard someone running towards them and he was able to discern that it was Esposito without turning around. He pretended to watch the barely conscious man as he waited.

After Esposito cuffed him and carefully recovered the weapon. Rick jerked the sniper upright and wasn't gentle about herding him back towards what is left of the funeral. It isn't until he sees Kate when they arrived that he realized just how much worse this might get. It looked like his day of reckoning had come and he had no idea what is going to happen. Unlike Kyra, he felt that Kate might be the one but how could he reveal what he had learned about himself without sounding like a complete lunatic? Their relationship may be about to end and that would be hard for him to face.

The chief of detectives himself took charge of the prisoner and promised answers. Losing a captain and almost losing a detective was unacceptable to him. Rick silently wished him luck as he'd had a glimpse of a well-organized military mind. That man would be hard to break but Rick was hoping he'd already gotten enough from the man for his purposes. People began filtering away after they hurriedly closed out the funeral and wished the grieving family well. Kate waited near Rick and since Lanie, Esposito and Ryan knew about their relationship, they left them alone soon after. Martha gave him a kiss on the cheek and a whispered "Good luck" before she left too. Rick remained alert throughout that time but he was most aware of Kate's determined presence.

He decided there was no use in delaying, he led the way to his Mercedes with Kate hot on his heels but still silent. She got in the passenger seat and waited until he was on the way back to the city before speaking. "You have some explaining to do."

"About what Montgomery told me?"

"That too."

Great. He tried to keep his voice level as he tried to be certain of what her concern was. "Then what is your main concern?"

"How fast you are. How you put divots into hard turf. How easily you take down trained killers. Do I really need to go on?"

"No." He remained silent the rest of the way and she respected that. When they were back in Manhattan, he asked, "Your place or mine?"

"Yours." No respite then. He really hoped his mother wasn't home. She wasn't around nearly as much now that she had her own place again and he was with Kate but one never knew with his mother. He opened the door to a dark and silent loft and she continued unabated to his office. She looked back at him with a 'you better not keep me waiting' sort of look before she disappeared inside. He closed the door and by the time he got to the office, the lights in the office were on and she was waiting with a serious look on her face in the loveseat he had moved in there once they became a couple. It had always been a more private or intimate place for them to talk than his living room.

The look she gave him assured him her patience was thin so he launched into telling her everything he had found out from Montgomery before what happened in the hangar including Roy's mysterious friend. She had asked a question occasionally when he told her the story but when he was done she remained silent and focused on a random spot on the floor as she considered what he had told her.

When she looked up at him again she took his hand and he began to hope he was off the hook. "Thank you for telling me all of that Rick. Don't worry about me going down the rabbit hole. I doubt I'll get to work on this case officially and I have something to live for so I'm not going to do anything risky. I promise it will be both of us in this, _neither_ of us will work alone, right?"

He had hoped me might be able to do some private investigating but if he expected her to keep him involved, he had to do the same. "Deal."

He wanted to be sure she knew no more about what he felt might be their best lead from Montgomery. "Do you know anything about the tape your mother was supposed to have?"

"No, there were no tapes in her things. I would know." She sighed and then continued, "Now, about you….."

Damn. She wasn't going to let this go and he really did want to confide in her as she was important to him and fully committing to this relationship could only happen after they both knew everything they needed to about the other. As much as he might like to preserve the status quo, he knew this had to happen sooner or later. Maybe she would settle for some basics for now, it was worth a shot. He couldn't look at her while he told her though so he looked off to the side.

"I've been different ever since I can remember. I have always been smarter, faster and stronger than other kids. I eventually discovered my sight and hearing are much better than other peoples' too. Only my mother has seen me do things that might freak people out. I learned the hard way to be real careful and to blend in. School was hard for me; kids don't like it when other kids are different. Now, I just try to blend in to not freak people out. I don't totally hold back, I just try to seem normal."

His hopes went up when she squeezed his hand and murmured, "I know how it is to be different. It's not easy to be a female cop; a lot of the NYPD still see it as a man's job. I just ignore them and concentrate on being better than them."

He turned to look at their joined hands with a relieved smile. That faded when she asked, "So what can you do that I don't know about?"

He sighed, it was time. He just hoped they were still a couple when he was done. "Sometimes, that saying about 'seeing is believing' makes sense." He got up and went over to his desk and pulled out a board from behind it and a large knife from a drawer. It was evident that the knife had been stabbed into the board in the past. He put the board on the desk, sat down and when he spread his left hand on the board he could see her face looking concerned. Before she could say anything he was stabbing the knife down towards his hand.


	5. Revelations

A/N: Thanks for the continuing interest in my little story. Still don't own them….

The jolt of adrenaline hit her system and she began to reach out to help him when she realized that he didn't seem to need help. He sat there calmly, in no obvious pain, while the knife penetrated his hand and into the board. There was no blood and although he didn't look her directly in the eye, he was turned towards her and she could see he was only concerned about her reaction. It took her a few moments to come up with something to say and even then, it wasn't particularly articulate.

"How?"

He pulled the knife free and she saw his hand fill in when the knife left and his hand looked exactly as it had before he had started. She tried not to look too freaked out as he finally looked her in the eye. "I have a control over my body that nobody else seems to have. I could also have done this."

He stabbed down again but the knife met the skin on top of his hand with a loud thud and she couldn't even see that it made any impression at all, much less a cut of any sort. He pulled the knife back and again his hand looked perfectly normal. "I can handle burning embers with no harm, I even shot myself and the bullet bounced off. That hurt like hell for several seconds though. I can take down killers because I'm faster and stronger than anyone I know. I don't need surprise or leverage or any other advantage to beat them. Sometimes I have even wondered if I'm human." He put the knife down and put his hands down on the chair's arms and stared at the floor.

A large part of her was gibbering in a corner of her mind repeating that this was impossible. A tiny part of her was marveling at the possibilities. Her heart was telling her that there was only one possible response. She decided to listen to her heart.

The defeat in his voice spurred her into decisive action. Fortunately, he had sat in the chair sideways to the desk so she had ready access to his lap so she sat there and pulled him into a firm hug. She had decided he was right, sometimes showing is better than telling but she had something to say too. "I love you."

She was reassured when his arms came around her and pulled her more firmly into his chest. She kissed his cheek and then he turned towards her with a relieved smile and she kissed him on the lips with as much passion as she could to tell him he hadn't scared her off. He was still her Rick. They had to take a break eventually to catch their breaths. When her heart had calmed down she wanted to make sure they were done. "Anything else to get off your chest, Castle?"

He chuckled and it made her want to laugh too but she just smiled at him and waited. "I can sometimes read something from a person's mind. It isn't easy and I can't control what I get very well and if they're fully alert and conscious I usually can't get anything at all. It's easy for someone to prevent it."

She pretended to glare at him. "Have you been doing any Vulcan mind tricks on me?"

He laughed a bit nervously before replying. "No. Absolutely not. I would consider it an invasion of privacy."

Another thought came to her. "How about snipers?"

"They are fair game."

"So what did you get?"

"Not much. I think he works for Arantus Solutions. I have two names for him and I think one is just an alias, maybe both of them."

"So what are _**we**_ going to do to find out more?"

"Everything I know seems to indicate this is really big. I think I'll use a CIA contact."

"I don't have a better suggestion."

"I know somebody who owes me. I'll try him."

He opened an app on his phone and made a call through it. When the other device accepted he spoke. "This is a message for agent Blue from Rick. I need everything you can get on Arantus Solutions and everything you can on a guy using the names Cole Maddox and Cedric Marks. He seems to work for Arantus." He then hung up. "It'll probably take several days."

She decided to distract him, well both of them really. "Yeah. So what are we going to do in the meantime?"

Her teasing grin and flirtatious manner led him to only one conclusion. "Why don't we continue this in the bedroom?" He scooped her up in his arms as he stood up and she gasped and giggled at how easily he did it. She hoped that this meant that he was done holding back around her. He seemed happy and relaxed so her flirtation seemed to have worked.

He had just made it to the door when she quietly asked, "How about no condom this time?"

He nearly stopped in his tracks and looked at her with a little concern. "I'm on the pill and we're both clean. There really isn't a reason to always use one. I want to feel all of you and you to feel all of me." He looked skeptical for a moment and she thought he'd be stubborn but then his face cleared and he agreed. This was a request she'd wanted to make for a while but she figured it would be especially effective tonight as a show of trust. His caution had made it seem like just sex and she definitely wanted to make love with Rick, not just have sex.

She had tried to make it all about him this time but as usual, he went out of his way to make sure she enjoyed herself as well and, also as usual, successfully. She grinned at him as he she held him in place above her so he was still inside her. She wanted to preserve the moment and tease him as well. "Have you been holding back any bedroom tricks?"

She was surprised when he blushed, it had always been hard to get him to blush and her success must mean that she was on to something here. "Share with the class, Castle. No more secrets." She tried to make sure he saw she was only teasing and his sudden answering smirk reassured her on that score. However, the next moment she found herself in the midst of an intense orgasm.

It had taken her by surprise as he hadn't moved and if this wasn't the most intense one she'd ever had, it was close. When she finally recovered enough to speak she had to ask. "How did you do that?"

"Do you really want me to spoil it with an explanation?"

He was giving her his innocent look and at first she had no intention of letting him off the hook. However, after a moment's consideration she did begin to wonder what difference it would make. She decided to concede the point, at least for now. "If you promise to do that again, you can keep your secret."

"Oh, I very much intend to do that again, Kate." The wolfish grin he gave her along with his deep voice that practically had her vibrating made a chill go down her spine and she could feel goose pimples forming over most of her body and she felt her nipples harden in reaction as well. It was moments like this that she realized just how much she depended on Castle already. She was sure he was her one-and-done and she just hoped the day it was made official would come soon. However, making sure the bride-to-be would live long enough to get to the altar had to take precedence for now.

He cooperated as she reversed their positions and she relaxed against him. She just wanted to stay this way for as long as possible. She didn't see how things could get any better at this moment. She also had one less worry. She had brooded about the danger to him but apparently there wasn't much point to that. Maybe it was this 'dragon' who should be worried. Her boyfriend was a freaking honest-to-goodness superhero.

A/N2: I was going to put Rick's explanation of his bedroom trick in this chapter but then I realized it kind of killed the mood. Thus, I decided to keep it a mystery for both Kate and the reader.


	6. Bugged

A/N: Thanks for reading. I'm still just playing in somebody else's sandbox.

Rick had always been cautious because he was different. Don't try too hard, don't move too fast, never volunteer the answer. That had served him well in school but in adult life, only most of the time. Sometimes he needed to do his best for someone else, like Beckett. Especially Beckett. By the time he had invited her to the Hamptons, he knew he was in over his head with her. The fact that she dumped Demming and came with him changed his world. Sometimes he would worry but mostly it was just so totally awesome.

He was still circumspect with her though, it was too ingrained into his nature to open up to her fully. Mainly it was revealing all of what made him different. Just thinking about it freaked him out about as badly as he would expect her to be. However, when the time came, she must have been so accustomed to him being different that she was only surprised; there was no freaking out at all. She even challenged the last remaining barrier he'd had.

He was never sure why, sometimes he just felt that some things were risky or a bad idea with no clear reason why. One of those had been about having unprotected sex. He had always consistently used condoms without knowing why. However, when she brought it up and he waited for that feeling to return, it didn't. Maybe he had been using protection for no reason or maybe it was suddenly all right with her. Maybe it was just a matter of breaking down the last barrier. He didn't know and now he didn't care. They were finally at a place where they could fully commit to each other. He had no secrets left and if she still wanted her 'one and done' in him, it was now possible. There was still one obstacle left: the dragon. That guy had to go down and sooner was better.

He woke the next morning when Kate apparently became restless with a dream. He just watched her as she settled down and looked so peaceful in her sleep. He was caught watching a few minutes later as her eyes fluttered open and her muttered "Creepy" was contradicted by her big smile. He returned her smile and her cheeks became a bit red before she reached over and pulled him in for a kiss.

He was in such a good mood and her apparent good mood just made everything seem perfect. Even her energy level seemed up and if such things happened to him, he would have had sore muscles from smiling so much. She gave him a look when he insisted on coming along for her trip to her apartment but his return look made her give up and just accept it. Her only objection was eliminated as he was capable of protecting her and wasn't at much risk while doing so.

Rick was on even higher alert as he went with her to her place, otherwise he might have missed the fact that something was different. He normally ignored the electromagnetic energy all around him as being just so much noise. However, he noticed an unusual pattern coming from her coffee table. Since there didn't appear to be anything electronic there, it certainly made him curious.

She had said something about what she was going to do but he had been so distracted that he didn't catch what she had said. She was looking at him curiously and about to ask him something when he held up his finger to his lips and moved silently toward her coffee table and after scanning the top he got down on his knees to peer under it and froze in surprise. When Kate silently joined him he pointed at the bug planted under the table and she gave him a shocked look.

He mouthed 'act normal' to her as they both got up and as Kate gathered up some of her things, he continued to peer around and found another one hidden on top of her kitchen cupboard and one under her dresser in her bedroom. Kate played her role well with some chatter that he would respond to as necessary.

Once they were out in the hall she gestured at her purse and the bag she had packed with a questioning look. He hadn't noticed anything but checked anyway and finally spoke up. "There's nothing." She started walking back towards his car before speaking herself.

"They bugged me! I can't believe it. Are they new or have they been listening to me for a while?"

"The glue was new, I'd say they were placed last night."

She gave him a curious look and asked, "Let me guess, super smell too?" His response was a shy shrug and hers was a smile and taking his hand.

On the way back, they discussed the possibilities of tracking who was listening but since the devices where omnidirectional there were a lot of possible locations to check although he guessed the range of the devices was not great. He was about to unlock his door when he heard someone in the loft. Under normal circumstances he would only verify it was his mother but he was going to treat this as a possible invader. He whispered "We have company", unlocked the door and ran up the stairs as quickly as he could. He saw a very surprised man about to leave through the window but he grabbed him and hurled him across the room before the man could even blink. His concern and urgency made him react more forcefully than he would have normally.

Unfortunately, the man appeared to be unconscious but he tried to get something from his mind anyway, just in case he got lucky. Kate appeared as he tried and several seconds later, he gave up.

"Did you get anything?"

"Maybe. I accidently knocked him out; it's harder when they are unconscious. I tried to get who he worked for and all I got was the name Lazarus."

"That sounds like an alias. Unfortunately, I've never heard of him."

He tried to tidy up anything that would make it obvious what he had done while Kate called dispatch about having an unconscious suspect in a break-in. Rick tried to hide his embarrassment while a couple of emergency technicians checked out the slowly recovering man. Fortunately, he was not inclined to speak of how he'd been captured so Rick hoped that meant he didn't remember. He wasn't too worried about people believing a suspect but it was much better for the subject of his speed and strength to not come up at all.

Fortunately, the robbery detective who showed up was not Demming and since it looked like the man had intended to plant bugs rather than to rob Castle, he didn't seem particularly interested in the case either. Once they were gone, Rick found and removed bugs from his office, living room and kitchen. Since they'd know their man had been caught, there was no reason to leave them around. The man must have entered soon after they left and Rick was disappointed in himself that he hadn't noticed they were being watched. He had to do a better job of looking out for Kate.


	7. The Temp

A/N: Thanks for reading, still not mine.

She awoke to the alarm from her phone and moved carefully to turn it off before realizing that she was alone in bed. She wondered where he was for a moment but then she saw that there was some light in his office beyond the half-open bedroom door and heard sounds from the kitchen. That sweet man was making her breakfast. She hurried through her morning routine and emerged ready to go to work.

She saw he was ready to go as well and had omelets, bacon and toast ready as well. Of course, she had to go for the coffee first that he held out for her with a smile. Her grateful smile made his smile even bigger and she couldn't resist giving him a kiss as well. "You're going to spoil me, Rick."

"Isn't that part of the job description for a boyfriend?"

"Hmmmm. I won't argue with that but I have to spoil you too."

"I think you did that last night."

She felt her cheeks heat up but she just rolled her eyes and kissed him again. Once they finished breakfast they hurried downstairs to her cruiser in his extra parking space and they headed to the precinct. She wanted to get an early start on finding out what she could about the guy who tried to bug Rick's loft. There was also the issue of who her next boss would be. There were a lot of rumors about who the next captain might be and she was as curious as anyone.

They took their usual seats and neither was particularly surprised that they were the first ones in. She did some research and got the rap sheet for the guy who spent the night in the hospital with a concussion. It turned out he split his time between B&E and drugs and most of his wrongdoings took place in Washington Heights. The question was how did that lead to him trying to bug Castle, and probably her as well?

When Ryan came in, she asked him to see if any of his contacts in narcotics could shed any light on anything not in is rap sheet. She also asked if he knew anything about the alias Lazarus. He didn't but he promised to check up on it. Kate started on her paperwork and when Esposito arrived, he did the same. Rick split his time between playing with his phone and trying to come up with ideas of how to find out about the dragon. He quickly put away his phone and stood up to shake hands with the Chief of Detectives that had suddenly entered the bullpen.

"Hello, Rick. When am I going to get a chance to win my money back?"

"I'm not sure. I think it's Bob's turn to host so I'll have to call him."

"Can't you host again? I like the spreads you put out."

Rick chuckled before replying, "All in good time. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Actually, I'm here to make an announcement but first I'll have to borrow your partner for a few minutes."

The Chief looked at a surprised Beckett who took a moment before responding. "You want to see me, Sir?"

"Yes, let's go into the captain's office for a moment. Don't worry, anyone. This is good news."

He started walking towards the office and Kate hurried after him and shrugged at Rick in response to his curious look as she passed by him. The three remaining men looked at each other and then returned to their tasks.

Kate closed the door to the office when the Chief gestured for her to do so and she cautiously approached the desk as he took a seat behind it. "Please sit down, Detective. You look so nervous that you're going to make me nervous. Just have a seat; this is a good thing although it will be temporary."

She tried to relax but she was totally mystified about what was going on. She tried to be at ease in the chair as he resumed speaking. "I have heard a lot of good things about you from Roy, may he rest in peace. He told me that he has urged you to take the sergeant's or lieutenant's exams."

"Yes, Sir. I still like being a detective too much though. Maybe in a few years."

"I understand, Detective. I felt the same way but we need our best to start rising to the top. Roy may not be around anymore but I'm ready to mentor you too. Think about it. In the meantime, it's going to take a while to replace Roy and we need someone to keep things going for us in the meantime. I know you aren't the most senior detective but Roy always considered you his best. Will you keep things running for us for a few more days? I'll take it easy on you for reports, mainly I just need someone to keep things running and keep me informed. Will you do that for me Beckett?"

She hesitated but there was only one response possible in her mind. "Yes, Sir."

"You can stay at your desk if you want." He looked around for a moment. "It looks like Evelyn hasn't come in for his stuff yet anyway. I'm going to go out and make the announcement now."

She followed him out and stood beside him as he got everyone's attention. She glanced at Rick and from the proud expression on his face; she knew he had listened in. She just rolled her eyes at him and tried to keep her face expressionless since this was related to Roy's death.

Once the Chief was done and left, Ryan and Esposito were first in line to offer their congratulations, followed by most of the other detectives. Rick just bided his time and gave her a wink and a handshake with an extra squeeze. She was glad he remained subtle at the precinct but he still managed to make her anticipation of them being alone climb to new heights.

Her workload as acting Captain was light and unfortunately the investigation into the sniper was resulting in nothing new and the sniper himself refused to speak to anyone. The man caught in castle's loft also remained annoyingly silent so it wasn't a productive day. Fortunately, nothing to follow up on also meant that she could leave at her end of shift.

On the other hand, Ryan's inquiries had resulted in a little information. Lazarus was rumored to be a major new drug lord operating mainly in Washington Heights. The man who bugged Castle's place had some links to Vulcan Simmons who also operated in Washington Heights. With just a look, Rick and Kate agreed that was too interesting to be a coincidence. As soon as they were alone in the elevator, Rick whispered, "We're going to have a chat with Vulcan Simmons."


	8. Hanging Around

A/N: Thanks for reading. I'm not Marlowe, or ABC or anyone else that owns Castle.

Vulcan Simmons had learned to be careful so he was hard to track down. It was over 24 hours before they had a plan. Rick had to wait until Simmons' car had to stop for a light where there were no cameras. He had Vulcan Simmons over his shoulder and up on the top of the roof in two seconds flat. It would have been quicker but he had to remove Simmons' gun and zip tie his hands too. Simmons remained conscious so Rick heard him gasp when he jumped and grunt when he landed as he took his captive from roof to roof rapidly.

Within seconds, he had arrived where he had left Kate and she was completely in black and masked, just like him. Her voice distorter made her voice very deep when she said, "About time."

Rick's voice distorter made him sound like Darth Vader during his reply. "You try carrying this clown around. He needs to go on a diet." He dropped Simmons down to the roof then dragged him over to the edge and helped him sit on the low wall around the edge. Rick was pleased to see Simmons' eyes were large and jerking around in fear.

"Who the hell are you? _**What**_ are you?"

Rick's chuckle sounded ominous once the distorter was done with it. He deliberately shoved his masked face into Vulcan's personal space and Simmons tried to move slightly away but not too far as he peered quickly down the side of the building and gulped.

"We'll ask the questions here, Vulcan. You don't mind me calling you Vulcan, do you?"

Vulcan merely gulped again and shook his head no slightly.

"Who is Lazarus?"

Rick saw Simmons' eyes widen slightly so he knew they had someone who knew the answer. However, Simmons chuckled somewhat nervously and replied, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You're lying."

Simmons just shrugged although he refused to look directly at Rick.

"I don't like it when someone lies to me." He grabbed one of Simmons' ankles and was holding him upside down over the edge of the building before Simmons could do anything more than squawk in surprise.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"I'm giving you motivation to tell me the truth."

"But I told you the truth!" His voice was semi-hysterical but he hadn't cracked yet.

"I warned you." Rick released Simmons' ankle and Simmons began to fall while screaming.

Rick had allowed him to fall only about two feet before he grabbed an ankle again and hauled him back up. "You scream like a girl."

Simmons' only response was some incomprehensible blubbering. Sometimes his heightened senses were not a blessing as an unpleasant scent hit his nose. "He peed his pants!" He turned to give Kate an outraged look but she couldn't see it due to his mask. He turned back to Simmons and continued, "I chose this building for a reason. They are going to pour a foundation next door tomorrow. If you don't start telling me the truth, your body will be covered in concrete."

Kate spoke up for only the second time since he arrived. "I say drop him. We can find someone else to question."

Rick pretended to ponder it for a moment and then said, "OK."

Simmons finally said something intelligible. "No! Wait!"

Rick tried to sound irritable and impatient. "What?"

"I need protection!"

"I have somewhere to keep you if you cooperate. Stop stalling and start talking."

"Please! Put me upright again! My head is starting to pound."

Rick grumbled unintelligibly and helped him sit down on the roof. He waited while Simmons gulped and slowly regained his composure but then he decided it was time to apply pressure again. "Start talking or you'll be hanging upside down again."

"It's Senator Bracken. He'll kill me if he knows I'm talking. You have to protect me."

"Do you have proof?"

Simmons hesitated so Kate spoke up again. "He's making it up. Throw him over."

"No! I have proof! I recorded some conversations!"

Rick got his description of where the recordings were and promptly disappeared from the roof, which had Simmons blinking in surprise yet again. Eventually, he began regarding the dark figure watching him from some distance away and based on general physique, he assumed it was a woman. "How about you loosen the zip tie before my hands fall off?"

"How about you shut up?"

He was still contemplating his response when the first figure reappeared with a very familiar box. He was so surprised that he spoke without thinking. "How did you get that so fast?"

Rick leaned into his personal space again with a menacing chuckle thanks to the voice distorter. "You'd be very surprised to know what I can do." Simmons gulped and decided to concede the point with silence. He also remained silent when Rick put a cloth bag over his head and fastened it around his neck. Rick did hear a startled gasp as he launched himself and the burden over his shoulder to the next rooftop. Within three minutes he had Simmons in a room under the Old Haunt that only he knew about and only he could open. He was very glad that he had prepared that sanctuary for himself although this wasn't the use he had planned for it.

He hurried back to the original rooftop to take Kate and the box to the loft. Unlike Simmons, she enjoyed the ride.


	9. Thwarted Heat

A/N: This is when things start to heat up.

The next three days were very frustrating for Kate Beckett. First, they had to turn everything they had to a task force and although they could continue their investigation unofficially, anything they got had to be turned over immediately. The Chief had regretfully told her that he'd been overruled because of her personal involvement and she couldn't join the task force. Allowing her to investigate on her own was the bone that he had thrown to her and it wasn't nearly enough in her mind.

There were no new leads from the NYPD investigation or at least nothing they would share with her and the only other thing of note that they'd learned from their reluctant guest under the Old Haunt was that Bracken was looking for an old tape that had him worried. They had concluded it must be the tape mentioned by Montgomery but where was the damn tape? They had nothing new on that despite going through everything she'd saved of her mother's and poring over her coded appointment book. By the third day Kate was in a bad mood about the case and had to try hard not to take it out on those around her.

On top of that, they seemed to be running out of time as rumor had it that the search for the new captain was nearing the end. To make it just a little bit worse, rumor also had it that the top candidate was one Victoria "Iron" Gates. Kate had heard of her and she had come up through IAB, was very by the book and political. If she was the new captain, their freedom to pursue this even unofficially would probably be much curtailed.

She was going through a report that was part of her temporary captain duties when she accidently dragged a fingertip along the edge of a page and got a painful paper cut. There wasn't much blood so she just pressed a tissue against it for a little bit and continued digesting the report. It wasn't until she was done and contemplating the report when she noticed she was tapping her fingers and felt no pain. She looked at the fingertip she had cut and found nothing at all. She was so puzzled that she tried to pull the cut open and her fingertip was completely unblemished. It seemed so impossible that only the tissue with a spot of blood still on her desk kept her from questioning her memory.

She looked towards Castle and he was unaware of her perplexity as he seemed to be researching something on his phone. She glanced around at the nearby detectives and they were busy doing their own duties. She wanted to talk to Castle about this but decided to wait as this was not a conversation that she wanted to risk being overheard.

At the end of the day she was driving them back to the loft and she contemplated the one thing they had accomplished in the last three days. She was now officially moved into the loft and only had some things left at her apartment that she had been storing to decide what to do with them. It was about time in her mind, most of her stuff had ended up at the loft anyway and it made sense for them to stay close together until this was done. After that, they'd have a different reason to stay together and she couldn't help directing a smile at her silent partner in the passenger seat. He gave her a slightly curious smile back but she didn't feel the need to explain her look at him.

She was a little tired as they approached the door to the loft and her contemplation of a quiet evening at home with Rick was interrupted when he suddenly became very alert as he paused in the act of putting his key in the lock of the door. He glanced around then whispered to her, "Someone has been here."

Her hand went to her gun but she didn't draw it as he first examined the door and then touched it with his hands and concentrated. He relaxed as he looked at her again and whispered, "Whoever it was is gone. There's nobody in the loft."

She decided to stay on alert anyway as he opened the door but paused in the doorway. She looked around him into the loft and saw nothing amiss as he scanned the room better than she could. He stepped in to make room for her so she entered and stood to the side. After he closed the door he added, "They left something in my office. I think it is just papers, I sense no danger or bugs."

She relaxed and nodded and followed him into his office. Sure enough, there was a large manila envelope waiting for them on his desk and after scanning the room, he dumped the contents on the desk and saw a paper about Arantus Solutions on top. He began reading the material and since she had long ago realized she'd never match his speed of reading she continued on to change into something more comfortable as he absorbed the material. When she returned, she wasn't surprised to see him sitting on the loveseat waiting for her with a thoughtful expression, his reading already done.

His manner was solemn as he announced, "My father came through for us." She had been aware of his estranged father for quite a while now so she put her hand on his leg to show her support. He looked at her with a small smile and covered her hand with his, which made her smile back. She eased her hand over so they clasped hands and intertwined their fingers as he continued.

"The CIA considers Arantus Solutions to be a rogue company because they aren't fussy about clients or what they are asked to do. He thinks they are probably on the FBI's radar but he isn't aware of what the status of any investigation might be. He provided a list of probable owners and investors, some of them have a connection to Bracken. He is pretty sure that Bracken is the client for Arantus to come after you. He offered to have Bracken killed if we want."

Just from his tone of voice, she knew that was the last thing that Rick wanted and since it didn't fit her sense of justice she silently agreed and squeezed his hand again. He gave her a brief smile before he resumed his summary. "It turns out that one of the names I gave him is the sniper's real name. He is Cedric Marks and he gave me the unredacted summary of his military service. He probably shouldn't have done that but there's not anything interesting for us. It just proves that Marks doesn't mind killing and probably enjoys it. Unfortunately, there's nothing that we can use in court to pin on Bracken from this."

She leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder as she contemplated what he had told her. She'd never give any indication of this to Rick but this almost made things worse. They knew some more things but there was still nothing they could prove. It seemed like wasted effort but she appreciated what he'd tried to do anyway. She decided to provide a distraction.

She lifted her head back up to look at him. "I got a paper cut today."

He gave her a blank stare and she just smiled back at him until he asked, "And that is news because…."

"It disappeared within minutes. What happens if you get injured?"

Understanding dawned in his face as he replied, "It heals quickly, like you."

"It seems there is a side benefit to making love to you. I have felt like I have more energy lately and I thought it was just how happy I am with you but now I'm not so sure." She leaned into him and was so close that her lips brushed his as she added in a low voice, "I'd still do it just to be with you though."

She squealed and laughed as he abruptly lifted her up in his arms and started carrying her to their bedroom. This was starting to look like another wonderful evening.


	10. Iron Heat

A/N: We get to meet a familiar character in this chapter. Still not mine.

He was just starting to contemplate what she had revealed to him when she had to totally distract him. It wasn't until she was driving them to the precinct the next morning that he began to consider the possibilities again. He didn't see a down side to this; if she could become more like him it would just make things even better. Maybe he wouldn't have to worry so much about her after all.

This probably also explained his feeling it was wrong to have unprotected sex. It would have given him away, what if this started happening with Kyra? He had already admitted he was different and she had accepted it so there was nothing at risk anymore. One of the remaining mysteries was where was this feeling coming from? How had he known?

His good feeling immediately vanished as they entered the bullpen. Not everyone was in yet but there was an immediate feeling of intensity and their eyes simultaneously sought out the Captain's office and there was definitely activity there. They exchanged a look and tried to brace for the worst. In the meantime, they'd try to act as normal as possible.

At exactly the start of shift, she was out and everyone gathered in the bullpen as she scanned the assembly. She stood stoically although she seemed to radiate disapproval of the stragglers. She started speaking abruptly.

"I am Captain Victoria Gates and all of you report to me now. You may address me as Captain or Sir. Ma'am is my mother so you can save that for her if she ever comes here."

Rick almost felt a chill in the air and nobody reacted to what may have been an attempt at humor from her. She had the beginning of a scowl on her face and he began to wonder just how bad this might get.

"I mean no disrespect to the dead but I will be running a tight ship here. I will have no freelancing…" Rick saw her looking at Kate as she said this and he felt her stiffen near him as he tried to keep a scowl off of his own face.

"… I will allow no one to disgrace this precinct and I will not allow any distractions." She looked right at Rick for this last part and he tried to be stoic but he was pretty sure he had at least a hint of a scowl on his own face. To his surprise, she paused a moment as if she were a little startled and then she looked elsewhere to continue.

"I expect to be obeyed without question and I expect to be kept up to date on all investigations as developments occur. For my part, I will have your backs and if you follow proper procedures you don't have to expect any censure from me. I may be tough but I will be fair. I will try to meet with everyone for a brief one on one meeting today. First up will be…." She paused to look at a paper she had been holding at her side and she looked up again to continue. "Detective Karpowski".

Someone cleared her throat off to his side and he heard Karpowski say, "Yes, Captain."

She followed her Captain, who had simply turned and started back to her office. Karpowski seemed a bit ill at ease and Rick didn't blame her. Gates was blunt to a fault and didn't seem the least bit friendly.

There was no doubt in Rick's mind that the ambiance here was going to be very different from the way it was under Montgomery.

He turned towards Kate as they settled into their respective chairs and she rolled her eyes at him but it wasn't playful as when she rolled her eyes at something he had done. She got right back to her paperwork but he didn't feel snubbed. He wished he had something to dive into himself. He glanced around her desk but there was no sign of a cold case or anything else for him to look at. He sighed and looked around and saw Esposito copying Kate but Ryan was casting concerned glances towards the Captain's office. Other detectives were either doing their best to look busy or casting furtive glances like Ryan was. It was starting to look like being the precinct would really suck now but he wouldn't even consider abandoning Kate here. He'd be here for his partner no matter what.

After what seemed like an hour but was probably much less, she called another name and a somewhat shaken Karpowski returned to her desk. Most detectives continued to try to look busy but a few, which included Ryan, approached Karpowski. She gave a few short answers to questions but didn't seem inclined to talk so the visitors soon dispersed. Ryan answered Rick's curious look with just a shrug. Apparently there wasn't much news to be had.

The next name she called was someone out on a case and Rick couldn't help thinking he was lucky. However, there might be something to be said for getting it out of the way quickly, a situation like ripping off a band aid. She had her next victim quickly and they had to follow after her quickly once again. The new Captain wasn't someone who waited around.

After lunch it began to seem like Kate's team was being left for last and it was midafternoon when she called out, "Esposito". He left stoically for his meeting and although Kate kept busy, he could tell she was a little nervous. When Javier came back his jaw was clenched but he did not look overly stressed or angry. He did whisper something to Ryan in passing and Rick only caught the last part since he had not expected it. He'd said something about Raglan and McCallister. Ryan tried to seem unaffected but Rick hoped that Gates was far enough away not to notice. Her abrupt call of "Ryan" had the next detective headed out for his fate. It was quickly obvious that Esposito was not in a sharing mood as he dealt with paperwork rather abruptly.

Rick exchanged a glance with Kate and she gave him a rather unconvincing smile. Rick sighed and pretended to peruse his phone when Kate again returned to her paperwork. He had to hope that Javier would tell Kate if there was something she needed to know as the partial whisper didn't give him much to tell Kate. He tried not to worry about Kate, he knew she was a good cop and he wished he could be in there for her but he certainly didn't expect that. He might get a meeting himself though. He'd certainly gotten the impression she wouldn't mind if he was gone.

Rick was not surprised when Javier slipped a note to Kate on his way elsewhere. She unobtrusively looked at it and then wrote something on it before slipping it to him. The part written by Esposito said:

 _She knows about the text I sent you about the third cop. I had to tell her about_ _Yanavich and passed it off as just trying to find out who might know more about Raglan and McCallister, nothing else._

Below that was something added by familiar handwriting.

 _Be ready and destroy this._

He had a bad feeling about this but he followed Ryan's lead and tried to be nonchalant. Since he could crush it into an unreadable mass in his hand, he did just that and threw it away. Time seemed to slow even more while they waited.

Suddenly Ryan was headed for his desk and although he seemed to walk with a little more purpose than usual and had a slight scowl, he did not seem as affected as Rick would have thought. He had no chance to contemplate that though as he suddenly heard the announcement "Beckett and Castle".

He couldn't help it, his eyes grew wide and when he looked at Kate, she seemed just as startled. He didn't even get a chance to wonder if this was a good or bad thing as they had to hurry to catch up with the elusive Captain. He tried not to walk too close to Kate and allowed her to precede him into the office before he followed and closed the door. He wasn't sure if his slight chivalry of letting her go first was a good thing for her in this case or not.

Then a possible reason for her calling them together occurred to him. She had no direct threat over him; she must know that he had some powerful friends who were fine with him shadowing Kate. However, there was plenty she could do to make life difficult for Kate. By calling them together, she would be able to use her power over Kate to manipulate him. He tried not to show it but he was getting ready for a fight.

They'd know soon enough. They took the two chairs in front of her desk and she said nothing as she glanced through one file and then another, much thinner file. If he had ever had any sort of police record, he'd be nervous but he wondered what sort of file they might have on him. There'd been paperwork when he'd started following Kate, maybe that was it.


	11. Frozen Heat

A/N: It's Beckett vs. Gates. Still don't own them.

By the time her name was called, Kate was frustrated and angry. Those feelings were shocked out of her when she heard the 'and Castle'. Despite her wishes, some of her alarm made it to her face and she couldn't help looking towards Rick and he seemed to be just as concerned. Why were they being called in together? They'd been careful to never appear as a couple in front of anyone who they didn't implicitly trust. She may have co-hosted Rick's poker parties but it had never gotten so much as a raised eyebrow and they'd never done anything to imply more than friendship. If the Chief of Detectives had any suspicions, he'd never done anything to indicate them to her. In fact, he'd given her a chance to enhance her résumé just days ago. What the hell was going on?

She forced all that down and went with her partner and tried to remain calm as Gates took her time looking at a couple of files. She did her best to ignore it completely, not wanting to give Gates any satisfaction in making her nervous. If Gates wanted a cool relationship, she could do that. In fact, she could do frigid pretty well; she was almost looking forward to it. She tried to push any anxiety about questions regarding her old captain out of her mind.

Abruptly, she looked at Kate and sternly said, "I trust you have turned everything you know about the case to the task force."

"Yes, … Sir." She caught herself barely in time, she'd almost said ma'am instead of sir.

"The text you received from Detective Esposito that night, what did it mean to you?"

"We knew that Raglan and McCallister were involved somehow and we were trying to find out more about them. We'd heard that they'd used to run with a third cop and it wasn't until that night that we found out that it was Montgomery."

"He was your captain, why weren't you already aware of this?"

"I'd never asked him specifically about it. He did tell us a little about them but I had no idea he might know more."

"He was aware of your investigation?"

"Of course, Sir." She really didn't like where this was going but she focused on not giving that fact away. She could see from the periphery of her vision that Rick was stoic and she had to do the same no matter how she felt.

"His call to you was only to come to the hangar and it was about the case, nothing else?"

"Yes, Sir."

Gates gave Kate a measuring look and then changed tacks. "I am very disappointed with the way this investigation went but it appears that is mostly the fault of someone who is dead. I'm not interested in going after innocent people or anyone's pensions; I just want to get to the truth."

"I'm sure his widow will appreciate that, Sir."

Off to the side she could see Rick's eyes widen as Gates narrowed her eyes at her. She certainly attracted a lot of attention with her remark but she couldn't bring herself to regret it at this moment. From the look on Gates' face though, that might change. Seconds went by as Gates stared at Beckett but then she abruptly focused on Rick. "And you, Mr. Castle. What did Captain Montgomery tell you about this case?"

"Are you referring to the call he made to me earlier the day he died?"

"Yes, that and any other conversations you had with him."

"He told me he was on to something but didn't give me details. I put everything in my statement that I gave that night."

"Why did he call you to tell you only that?"

"Even though I'm not a real police officer, both he and Beckett have treated me like her partner. He wanted to make sure I was aware of the situation."

She gave him a skeptical look and after a pause she continued. "The call seemed to last longer than the short conversation you documented. Do you care to clarify your statement, Mr. Castle?"

"I included everything relevant to the investigation, Captain."

"I'll be the judge of that. I want to know everything and I mean right this moment."

Kate saw him flash a rather apologetic look at her and she carefully suppressed all reaction. What was he about to do?

"He was concerned about Beckett's history with this case. He wanted to make sure that I knew how important it was to keep her from doing anything reckless. If anything else came up he'd make sure that I was as aware of it as Beckett."

Gates was giving him an intrigued look. "He was concerned about her following procedure?"

"No, he never brought that up. He was concerned about her well being."

She gave Kate a speculative look and murmured, "Seems like almost the same thing to me."

Fantastic. What a great first impression she was making with her new captain. She concentrated on not showing her anger, it wouldn't help now.

"On the other hand, the chief of detectives thinks highly of you, Detective. I can see for myself that your team has the highest closure rate not only in the precinct but in all of the NYPD. You were doing well on your own but your closure rate has improved since Mr. Castle started tagging along. You're also the youngest woman to make detective in all of the NYPD."

She had her answer for the first part ready but the last sentence threw her a bit. "Mr. Castle has been an asset to the team, Captain. As for me being the youngest, I didn't realize that anyone kept track of that."

"I held the previous record, Detective. I'm trying to say that I am impressed."

She sure didn't look or sound impressed but Kate wasn't about to argue with her. "Thank you, Sir."

"Despite all of that, I will not stand for anyone freelancing or disregarding procedure. Do I make myself clear, Detective?"

Kate had absolutely no doubt she meant that. "Yes, Sir."

Gate's glower transferred to Rick and she continued, "The same applies to you, Mr. Castle."

"Understood, Captain Gates."

"Detective, you were also acting Captain as I understand it. Is there anything you need to inform me about?"

"I haven't gotten any updates since my last report yesterday. If you've seen that, you are up to date."

"Very good, thank you."

She looked down at something on her desk as if done and simply said, "Dismissed."

They exchanged quick glances and took advantage of their opportunity to depart. Kate avoided looking at him again as she wanted to calm down before speaking to him. She sat and immediately focused on the paperwork she'd been working on when they were interrupted. She could tell Castle was fidgeting a little but she ignored it.

She was anxious about putting her team in Gates' crosshairs although it did appear they were not in imminent danger. Gates might suspect something but she apparently had no proof. She was still a little torn about how to feel about Roy but he'd been a good mentor and boss and she had given him honest, albeit impromptu forgiveness. She knew Evelyn and his kids too, how could she have let his legacy be dragged through the mud? On the other hand, didn't she owe even more loyalty to her team? She glanced towards Rick but looked back at her papers before he could meet her eyes. She was still angry about what had happened in Gates' office and she was mad at Gates, herself and Rick.

She knew she was making him worry but her thoughts and feelings were all over the place and she honestly didn't know what to do right now. Even though this shift seemed endless now, it would eventually end and she'd have to know what to say to him then. She realized she was still staring at the same page and gave up. She focused on working through her feelings hoping she would eventually know what to do.

Finally it was time to go and the departures were sudden and eerily quiet compared to normal days. Kate wanted some immediate privacy with Rick so she deliberately dawdled and Esposito and Ryan seemed to realize that and said their goodbyes quietly and left.


	12. Heat Rising

A/N: Now we'll see how hard it is to fool Castle. Still not mine.

When Gates had started with the 'make them sweat' interrogation technique, he realized that he should treat this as an interrogation too. He may not be able to get to her thoughts without physically touching but the nearer he was the more he could sense about a person's muscle tension, heartbeat/blood pressure and even directly glean some emotions from their mind. In short, he was a living lie detector and nearly impossible to fool. Even Sofia who had fooled the CIA for years couldn't fool him. He was going to read Gates as she'd never been read before.

As the interview proceeded, he was struck more than once at the disparity between what Gates projected on the outside and what she really felt. For one thing, she'd been sincere when telling Kate that she was impressed with her record. When she'd admonished Kate about following procedure, he sensed some genuine concern, it may not be at the level he'd sensed from Montgomery, but it was there. Even the moment when Kate had made the indiscrete comment about not going after pensions, Gates' anger was mild, she was mainly studying Kate. Apparently she was playing 'bad cop' to nobody's 'good cop', starting out strict and possibly easing up later if she could. He couldn't help it, he was impressed. He knew enough about leadership techniques to see them in action.

However, the overarching theme of her interaction with them was observation. She was intent on reading them and he was sure she was getting information whether they wanted her to or not. Her scrutiny extended to watching them through her blinds as they walked back to Kate's desk. Unfortunately, he got nothing on what she was looking for. She talked mostly about the case but had not tried to threaten Kate to get to him at all. He had no idea if she was curious about their exact relationship or not. Despite his skills, Victoria Gates was not an open book.

Rick had been so sure that Gates was going to try to get rid of him that her questions about Montgomery caught him off guard despite Kate's note. He was furious with himself for letting that happen and when she challenged him on the length of the call he knew that he was busted. He had to give her something so he chose the lesser of two evils, plus it was probably already documented anyway. Gates was proving to be a worthy opponent and he had decided that making something up on the fly was too dangerous. He'd been optimistic that he'd be forgiven but she kept avoiding any communication with him and the longer it went on the lower his spirits sank. The only thing keeping him calm was the fact that she was containing her anger and later seemed more thoughtful than seething.

Still, when she delayed their departure and the boys left with concerned glances at him, he began to feel anxious again. He stayed near her, although not too near, and when they waited for the elevator nobody was with them. He'd hoped for some sign from her but she remained stoic as they stepped in and she pressed the button for where her car was. The moment the doors shut, she seemed to be preparing to speak but his pent up words burst from him first.

"I'm so sorry. I was caught completely off guard and I had no story ready. I chose the less dangerous truth. I was not throwing you under the bus, I swear, she kept twisting…"

Her fingers came up to his lips and stilled him with a touch and a small smile. "I figured that out on my own, Rick. We're good. We have to talk but we're good." Her smile grew a little when he sighed in relief.

"Do you think she has my phone records?"

"I doubt it. Given the history of the NYPD, warrants are easy to get for cops, especially for internal investigations. She'd have Montgomery, me and the guys so I think she is working only from that. To get yours she'd need more probable cause and she doesn't seem to have that. Would there be a problem if she did?"

"Not that I can think of but I don't want to get caught off guard again, once was enough."

She chuckled and leaned into him but moved back when they reached their floor. They proceeded to the car but she stopped him just before they reached it. "Why don't you go 'feed the animal' while I start dinner?"

He smirked initially, she certainly hadn't forgotten her first encounter with Vulcan Simmons but the smile quickly disappeared. "We need to stick together, you know that."

She had to stifle anger again and it reminded her of what they had to discuss later. She took a deep breath and realized there was an easy compromise. "OK, I'll go and if you see anyone watching or following, call me. Or maybe do your superhero thing, whichever. I also think it would be a good thing to be seen leaving separately once in a while."

He wasn't sure about that as there could be an ambush later but things had been shaky enough today between them that he decided to just go with it this time since nothing had happened since the funeral. He'd certainly give things a very good look before tending to their prisoner though. He nodded reluctantly and walked to where she'd be leaving the lot. He was already scanning around before she got there and he continued until she was out of even his range.

There'd been one man that caught his attention but it had been false alarm. He stared off in the direction she had gone and decided to find out if his plan would work. He wanted a fast resolution just for Kate's protection from Bracken but now a fast resolution could save her from worry about her new Captain or even the task force. Some information from Simmons would help him solidify his plan so he resolved to get it, even if he had to dangle that man from a roof again.

* * *

He arrived at the loft with the information he wanted, Simmons could be very cooperative with just a hint of motivation these days. He was still a little troubled about how things had gone with Kate however. He was internally berating himself for not recognizing her need for space. He could push her away if he got too demanding with her. He knew she was an adult perfectly capable of defending herself but he was anxious about her being able to handle whatever Bracken might decide to throw at her.

His heart sank as he saw her turn towards him in the kitchen. She'd tried to hide the signs but she had been crying. It was very hard for anyone to hide things like that from him, even across the room. He began to rush towards her to offer comfort and the way her jaw begin to clench had him rethinking his plan until he saw her expression soften and she began to move to intercept him. He engulfed her in a hug the moment that he could and she returned it firmly and put her face into his chest.

They just held each other silently for a few moments until they both said, "I'm Sorry." Their concurrent actions made him chuckle and he was pleased to hear and feel her chuckling at the same time. One thing that he didn't have to worry about is them being in synch. They still had it.

Kate pulled back and started to speak. "I don't really think you have anything to apologize for, Castle. I'm the one having trouble dealing with things. You didn't do anything wrong and she probably has something in my file about my obsession with the case already. Montgomery had to sign off on my counseling and I'm sure the reason is in there somewhere. I'll admit I was upset but I got over it."

She paused and checked on dinner as she continued but she didn't look at him. "I don't know why I keep pulling back, wanting space. I love you and I want to be with you, I really do but I get these moods…." She sighed and looked down as she spoke in a softer voice." I've gotten better since I met you; I'm trying to have a real life and not just my job. Sometimes I wonder if I have gone as far as I can on my own. Maybe I need to go back for more counseling."

It was obvious to him that she was ashamed and he just couldn't stand for her to feel like that. He came up behind her and put his arms around her and spoke softly near her ear. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. If you feel you need counseling then fine, go for it and I'll support you. If it'll help, I'll go too. Maybe I'm not doing something right. We're both in this relationship; we'll both have to work on it."

Her answer was turning around in his arms and giving him a fierce kiss. A timer interrupted before they got too far so they switched gears and finished getting dinner ready and then eating it. Kate was very flirty and the closer to done they got, the hotter the conversation got. A different sort of dessert was on the menu then and they were just starting towards the bedroom when Kate's cell rang, startling her and momentarily breaking the mood.

He assumed it was a call from the precinct but her reaction when she checked her phone didn't correlate with that. She smiled slightly as she brought the phone up and said, "Hi, Dad."

She was giving him a somewhat apologetic looking smile when her expression completely changed to chagrin. He wondered if he was delivering some sort of bad news when she gave him a glance that seemed like a plea for help but he could tell that she wasn't panicking or anything, he had no idea what was going on but didn't want to eavesdrop either, that was a bad habit.

"Ummm, well I sort of... moved."

He gave her a sympathetic look as he had a good idea that her father had just discovered something the hard way.

"Yes, I'm at his loft." She covered her face with her hand and he could tell she was embarrassed.

"Things have been sort of busy. I wasn't trying to hide anything, I would have told you soon."

"Our plans? Oh! I completely forgot!"

By this time she was staring at the floor so he moved closer and took her free hand is his own to offer his support. She squeezed his hand back as she continued, "How about tomorrow night then?"

She gave Rick a startled look then said, "Just a sec, I'll ask him."

She took her hand back and put her phone on mute and turned to Rick. "He wants for both of us to meet him at his favorite restaurant."

Rick wondered if he was going to get the 'prospective son-in-law' talk from Jim and it must have showed on his face as she chuckled before speaking. "Don't worry, Rick. I'll be there to protect you if he starts an interrogation."

Rick rolled his eyes before replying. "Tell him I'll be glad to attend. Thank him for the invitation."

She gave him an affectionate smile before returning to her phone. "We'll both be there, Dad, and Rick says thanks." She nodded and then replied, "6:30 sounds fine, we'll see you then."

"Bye."

She ended the call and practically fell into Rick's arms as if exhausted. "I forgot a dinner date with my father and he went to my apartment and found it pretty much empty. I'm a bad daughter."

"I'm sure he's just happy you're fine and he's already forgiven you. On the other hand, I may have some explaining to do."

She laughed and tightened her hug. "Dad never liked my boyfriends, especially during my rebel phase. However, he has told me he likes what I've told him about you."

"So, what have you told him?"

She smirked at him and replied, "Only the good stuff. Don't worry; he'll be fine with us. You're getting to meet him on neutral ground and I'll be there. There's nothing to worry about."

That's the moment that he realized that Kate didn't know that he'd already met her father. He pondered a moment but he knew keeping a secret would almost certainly be a mistake. "Actually, I've already met your father."

She looked startled and then her eyes began to narrow. "Tell me about it."

That wasn't a request and he hoped she wouldn't be too mad at him. This also meant the mood was broken for tonight. Maybe he'd take a cold shower later.


	13. Turbulent Heat

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Things had been going so well. Their banter during dinner had her all ready to go and they'd been on their way to the bedroom when her phone rang. When she saw it was her father, it had seemed like just a momentary delay, and then everything started to fall apart. He'd gone to her apartment only to discover she had moved out. That was **so** not the way she had intended for him to find out.

It was so embarrassing that she wasn't even wondering why he'd gone looking for her. Then she realized that she'd forgotten their regular time to meet for dinner and to catch up. That doubled the humiliation and then she was thrown off once again when he wanted to redo their plans with Castle included. OK, that wasn't so bad as she was sure they'd get along fine and it had to happen anyway. Little did she know that Castle had another surprise in store for her. When was this going to end? She felt bad when she saw that Rick was ill at ease and tried to soften her expression when he began to reply.

"He came to see me, before... the hangar."

Her father had come to him? Maybe he was checking out Castle on his own, she had been slow to introduce them. It was probably nothing then but she was still curious. "What did he want?" She saw him hesitate and swallow and she began to wonder what her father had done.

"He asked me to keep you from going down the rabbit hole again. He was worried about you."

She felt her ire rise but she tried to stifle it. She wondered why he'd gone to Castle rather than her but then she realized that her father would know what her most likely reaction would be. Her embarrassment began to return and although she intended to drop this, she wanted to know everything before they met her father for dinner the next day. "What did you say?"

"I said I'd do what I could but that he was probably overestimating what I could do."

That made her smirk and she saw him relax. "He has no idea what you can do. You did a pretty good job of keeping me out of it at the hangar."

"Yeah, well, if I made a habit of dragging you away from things, I'd end up with no girlfriend."

The remainder of her irritation left her as she went over to hug her boyfriend. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't get mad when people try to help me. That's one of the reasons I have to consider counseling. I'm bad at being a daughter and a girlfriend. Both of you deserve better than what I've been doing."

"I wasn't complaining."

That made her chuckle and when he tightened his hug a little she responded in kind and took a deep breath to breathe in his scent. There was just some so _Castle_ about his combination of aromas that helped her to relax. She sighed and leaned into him more as she realized that her earlier arousal had completely left her and that this might not be as active an evening as she had been thinking. He was able to read her so well that she probably didn't even have to tell him.

"I've come up with an idea on how to draw Bracken out. The part I'm not sure about is how to do this without getting in trouble with Gates or the task force."

She drew back to gaze at him and then she smiled and said, "Tell me about it."

* * *

Castle's plan had her feeling much better and it soothed her ego a bit that she was able to come up with how to handle Gates. They even managed to get a little playful before going to sleep although they ended up not making love. She resolved to make it up to him when they got Bracken where they wanted him. On second thought, maybe she'd settle for just getting past dinner with her father before making it up to him. He had breakfast ready when she emerged ready to go to work and she gave him a big kiss for his efforts before taking her coffee and savoring it.

It all seemed to happen too soon and they were going up the elevator to the bullpen before she felt ready. Coming to work had been exciting for her, well that was mostly since Castle started hanging around but still this was a jarring change for her. There weren't a lot of people in yet but it was still too quiet. She checked the office and sure enough the Iron Lady was there already. Her eyes flicked to Rick's and it was his turn to roll his eyes. She sighed and pondered when she should approach Gates. She eventually decided to do it later when things were busier while she was on autopilot doing her paperwork. Rick had come prepared and was already typing away on his laptop and she wished she could ask what Nikki Heat was up to now.

They both silently acknowledged the arrivals of the rest of their team and both of the new arrivals looked at the Captain's office before sitting down and reluctantly dragging out their own paperwork. She knew it was much too soon but she couldn't help but wonder if she'd end up transferring. It was easy to see how coming to work would become something to dread. On the other hand, Rick maintained that she wasn't as tough as she pretended so she could wait. It was a welcome distraction when Karpowski came over to ask her opinion on something.

She was almost down to asking for cold cases but she decided to implement their plan. She briefly considered asking Castle to go with her to beard the dragon but changed her mind after their eyes met. She gave him the best smile she could given the prevailing mood and stood to go the Gates' office. He started to get up but she put her hand on his chest and whispered, "Better for me to do it alone. She's more likely to let it slide without you there."

A slight scowl came to his face but he sat back down and she gave him a half-smile and a pat on the shoulder as she went around him to continue her mission. She forced all her feelings down and approached Gates' office almost as if it was a potential ambush. She felt comforting but cold stillness as she rapped on the doorframe to her office and their new Captain motioned for her to enter.

Gates only looked at her curiously so she just launched into her prepared speech. "Castle and I have been thinking about the guy who broke into his loft to bug it. The timing was too coincidental and his previous association with Vulcan Simmons might be a lead. We were thinking of asking around in narcotics and see if we can shake anything loose."

She was a little surprised to see Gates frown in confusion during her speech. "The man who broke into Mr. Castle's apartment was there to bug it?"

"Didn't robbery make note of that?"

"No, they didn't. You're right, that is interesting. Do you know if the bugs are still available?"

"I'm not sure; I'd have to ask Castle."

"Ok, you do that and I'll relay this to the task force. I knew about the break-in but not about the bugs. I'm going to have to have a word with Robbery. Keep me informed if anything comes up from Narcotics."

"Of course, sir."

Gates nodded in dismissal and Kate made her escape. That had gone better than she expected. It was nearly time for lunch so they'd have a chance to escape the oppressive atmosphere in the precinct. Too bad they had to come back for the afternoon. As she approached Castle and saw his appreciative nod for a job well done she realized she still had to face her father that night. Hopefully, that would go as well as things had just gone with Gates plus she'd be with Rick and that would make nearly anything better.


	14. Abiding Heat

A/N: It's time for dinner with Jim Beckett. Still not mine.

Rick wasn't sure if the bugs he'd saved would be good evidence but he'd certainly cooperate. He left for his loft after lunch at Remy's with the whole team. The banter between Ryan and Esposito dominated but it was diverting and usually funny so he didn't mind a bit. He returned with the bugs in a small bag and turned them over to Gates who had seemed to appreciate his cooperation but he wasn't naïve enough to think they'd turned some sort of corner in their association this quickly.

He rejoined the team and found them working through the drudgery of cold cases. He saw that Kate had put a stack out for him and he was tempted to thank her sarcastically when she smirked at him but he decided to hold his peace. He perked up when he found one that he felt might be worth brainstorming and they ended up deciding to try an interview with one of the persons of interest again if they could arrange it. With Rick's heightened senses, he was good at detecting prevarication so something might come of it.

At the end of the shift, no new case had come up so they headed out to change at the loft before meeting her father for dinner. Rick tried not to get nervous but he couldn't help it. Despite meeting her father and having one agreeable conversation under his belt, he couldn't help feeling that this would be different. Although he must have known they were dating back then, he'd be the man his only daughter was living with now. That would certainly make a difference for a father or at least that is what Rick thought. He was embarrassed when Kate told him to knock it off when he'd changed his shirt for the third time so he just sighed and sat on the bed until she was ready.

Her big smile when she joined him lifted his spirits back up and she looked so stunning that he couldn't help blurting, "You're beautiful."

She blushed and gave him a rather chaste kiss before checking his lips and then brushing at one side. "Sorry, I left a little lipstick on you."

He couldn't resist that opening. "Marking your territory?"

Although she tried to glare at him the smile never left her face so she gave up. Then she rolled her eyes before declaring, "Well, you are mine and I don't share so…."

He felt so good that his earlier trepidation completely vanished. He held out his arm and she took it and they left his loft on their way down where they took a taxi. They arrived at the diner and were looking around for him for just a few seconds when they heard his voice coming from behind them. "Your timing is good, I saw you enter just a few seconds ahead of me."

Kate reached out to hug him as she said, "Dad." Her father eagerly returned the hug as he said, "Nice to see you again, Katie."

When they released each other, Jim Beckett looked more serious as he reached his hand out and said, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Castle."

Rick's nervousness came back in force as he shook the man's hand and declared, "Call me Rick, Mr. Beckett."

"Only if you call me Jim." Jim's smile made Rick feel better but he tensed slightly when he heard what Kate said next.

"I think you missed a word: again. Don't act like this is the first time you've met."

She was staring at her father so he knew she wasn't mad at him but he wondered what Jim's reaction would be.

Her father held her gaze and responded calmly. "I was just worried about you Katie. Even a cop needs help once in a while."

She held his gaze for a moment before turning and asking, "The usual table?"

"You know me so well."

That earned him another serious look from his daughter but then she continued without comment and they ended up seated at a table near the back with Kate and Rick on one side and Jim opposite Kate. The server appeared immediately so they perused menus for a few moments before placing their drink orders and then continued on to ponder their choice of meal. Rick couldn't help some glances toward Jim but when he kept seeing how relaxed he seemed, he began to settle down himself. When Kate's leg bumped his, he looked over to see her smirk at him so he gave her one of her own eye rolls and she just smiled even bigger.

Their soft drinks arrived and they finished ordering but when Rick had just finished his first sip of his beverage he heard Jim speak. "So you and Katie, Rick?"

Rick was very glad that he had already swallowed or it might have come spraying back out. When he managed to take another breath, he answered with, "Yes and I assure you I am very serious about your daughter."

Jim gave him an indulgent smile before continuing. "I'm not opposed to this in any way, I assure you. It has been more years than I care to contemplate since I have seen Katie so happy and I'm sure that you are a big part of that."

Rick was distracted momentarily by a muttered "Dad!" that came from a clearly blushing Kate Beckett.

Jim just smiled at her the same way and then asked, "Are you going to deny it Katie?"

He could see that she was trying to look exasperated but her smile was not to be denied although she did manage to huff as if she was annoyed. Jim looked at Rick again before adding, "She's cute when she tries to act annoyed, isn't she?"

Rick couldn't believe he'd said that and when he looked towards Kate he saw her watching for his reaction. She must have been satisfied with what she saw because she turned to her father and stated, "You can't fool Rick that easily, Dad. He likes to tease me sometimes but he knows to not push too often. You should have figured it out by now, Dad."

Jim's grin never faltered as he replied, "I know what I can get away with, Katie."

Her glare was slightly more convincing but still marred by upturned lips. Rick saw her face turn to shock at her father's next words.

"I always knew you two would get together once you met. You are her favorite author after all."

After giving Jim an intrigued look he turned to see Kate staring at him as if a little worried. Rick smiled at her but replied to what Jim said. "She once told me that Patterson was her favorite."

"Don't believe her, Rick. She has never mentioned any other author and she gushes about your books."

Rick was really enjoying this now. "Really?" He was openly grinning at his sheepish looking girlfriend.

Kate looked at her father then back at Rick and murmured a weak denial. "I didn't gush…."

"That's not the way I remember it."

Kate covered her face with both hands and muttered, "I am never bringing the two of you together again."

"Don't worry, Katie. I'll behave from now on."

Kate gave her father a disbelieving look until Rick spoke up in an attempt to take the focus off Kate. "Why do you think I haven't invited mother over to dinner with us? She _loves_ to tell stories on me."

Rick didn't like the look of Kate's grin as she looked at him. "Really? I'm going to have to invite Martha over soon."

Both Becketts laughed when Rick muttered, "Open mouth, insert foot." He only pretended chagrin though as he wouldn't mind any of the stories his mother might tell. If Kate enjoyed them, he was fine with whatever his mother might come up with.


	15. In Heat

A/N: First an ex, then Castle's plan is put into motion. Still not mine.

Kate was beating on the heavy bag in the precinct gym that Rick was holding for her but she wasn't happy with the results. She had been hoping to see some of Rick's speed and strength and the only thing that was different is that she didn't tire as fast. She wouldn't complain about getting more energy and fast healing but the rest of it would have been nice, especially for a cop. Things got worse when she heard someone behind her say "Kate".

She put her cop face on as she turned around, confirmed who had spoken and she replied, "Demming".

"Your Captain caused quite a scene in robbery. She isn't making you any friends in our department."

She didn't like his tone but tried not to show it. "She hasn't exactly been spreading joy in our department either."

Demming pretended to be amused but wasn't particularly convincing about it. "Still have your shadow, I see."

Kate liked this less and less. Demming had completely ignored Castle and his tone had not improved. "He's not just a shadow. He's the best partner I've ever had, in more ways than one."

She could tell that Demming didn't like her reply. Good, she wasn't very happy with him either.

"Partner? Really? OK, why don't I hold the bag for you and you can show me what a writer can do."

She turned back to a surprised looking Castle and gave him a smirk and waggled her eyebrows at him. His mood improved instantly as he let go of the bag and Demming took hold of the bag as Kate eased back so she was behind and to the side of Demming. Demming then said "Give it your best shot. Show me what you've got."

She saw Rick gave her an inquisitive look and she gave him a big grin and an enthusiastic nod. She was _really_ looking forward to this.

Rick wound up a punch and didn't disappoint her. A very surprised Demming found himself abruptly seated on the floor and the involuntary "oof" when he landed indicated that he hadn't enjoyed it. He got up gingerly but Kate's grin faded as she saw Rick give the bag a disappointed look. She decided that there was nothing else to accomplish here so she nodded towards the locker rooms as she spoke. "Come on, Rick. Let's call it a day."

They were side by side just before they had to split up and she whispered to him, "What happened?" He whispered back, "There's a small tear in the bag."

Even though they had to separate, she knew he'd still hear as she whispered, "Don't worry our equipment is old, nobody will think much of it."

There was an unexpected delay at the front desk as Rick arranged to make a donation for an upgrade to the precinct gym. The desk sergeant gave Kate a perplexed but happy look and she just shrugged and smiled back. Rick seemed to be making another friend. She was glad she had the day off. With their experiment out of the way, it was time to put Rick's plan into action. Unfortunately, it was late afternoon before they found their quarry in the situation they were looking for.

As they watched their prey enter an alley Rick took a quick look around, picked her up and had them close to him before he began to realize that he wasn't alone. He had to put her down abruptly to disarm the man and she barely had her balance again when he was taking the clip out of the man's gun and remarking, "Nice gun. I don't suppose you have a license to carry one, do you?"

As Rick tossed the clip towards the opposite wall, the man began to object, "What the hell do you…."

Kate had her badge out by then and the man slowly ground to a halt. He gazed at her balefully and then looked chagrined again when Rick tossed his gun far back the way they had come. He looked like he was about to shout at Rick again when Kate demanded, "I want to talk to you about Lazarus."

The man sneered at her and began to reply, "I have nothing to s… - Urk!" He was rudely interrupted by Rick grabbing him around the torso with one arm and taking the back of his head in a viselike grip to force him to stay in place and face Kate. The man tried to struggle but felt himself held firm so both arms were pinned and his head pointed any way the man behind him wanted him to face.

"This is police brutality, you won't be able to use anything…."

Kate gave him her most intimidating glare. "Spare me the jailhouse lawyer shtick. This is just a few questions among friends."

The man retorted but was sufficiently cowed to only mutter his response. "You're no friend of mine."

"I'm crushed." Kate was enjoying the chance to be sarcastic and she saw Rick's lips threatening to turn up. "We're looking for someone who can verify that Lazarus is Senator William H Bracken. Are you high up enough in the food chain to know?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Kate kept staring at their suspect but she could see Rick shake his head marginally indicating 'no'. It made sense that Bracken would be careful enough not to let his identity get out to too many people but it would have been nice to know of another person who knew the truth.

"If you ever find yourself in a more talkative mood, give me a call." She stuffed one of her cards in his pocket while he glared at her. She decided to make sure both of their identities would be known since they both wanted his attention. "Come on Castle, this small fry isn't much help."

Rick immediately let go and pushed him a little further into the alley as they turned and started walking away the way they'd come. She was a little nervous about turning her back on the suspect but Rick murmured, "Don't worry, if he goes for a weapon I'll know. We know where his only gun is." He pointed out his gun that was still ahead of them. "He's shaking his arms, muttering some nasty words…. Oh! That could get his mouth washed out with soap."

Kate rolled her eyes at him and he winked back at her before continuing. "He's trying to find his clip."

"Could you tell if he is planning to contact Lazarus?"

"That is definitely on his to-do list. You did a good job of distracting him but there wasn't much to get. You were right, for our purposes, this guy seems to be small fry. He can deliver our message though." Just before they left the alley he added, "He's staying back. For some reason, he doesn't seem to want to come near me." Kate decided that earned him an elbow in the side even though she knew it wouldn't affect him at all.

"Gloating isn't attractive."

"Oh. I'll stop then."

"Thank you."

"What about puppy dog eyes, does that work?"

She glanced at him with a smirk before replying. "Well, you could try it tonight and see how it goes."

"Sounds like a plan."

Since Rick had made her day not once but twice, she decided then and there that it would work. She'd do her best to make his evening very pleasurable.


	16. In the Heat of the Night

A/N: The first domino falls from what they did last chapter. Still not mine.

The next day had been promising at one point. They finally caught a case but it turned out to be open and shut and they had nothing left but some paperwork after only two hours. They were back in the oppressive atmosphere of the bullpen again with not much to distract them. Gates had been satisfied that another case was closed but her demeanor hadn't changed a bit. Life in Homicide at the 12th was seriously starting to suck these days.

Although Rick had his laptop with him, he couldn't concentrate on his writing very well. He was really hoping that they hadn't kicked the hornet's nest too hard the day before. He could sense Kate's tension as well. The overall tension from the new captain certainly wasn't helping either. He also kept pushing his senses as much as he could so all of the stimuli were starting to wear on him a little. There was a reason he ignored most of what he could sense, to do otherwise was tiring. He couldn't stop though, he couldn't risk being unaware of a danger.

He had the beginnings of a pounding headache by the time they could leave. He was sure that he'd have no trouble getting to sleep tonight and there would be no repeat of that awesome time they'd shared last night. That could put a smile on his face for days but the memories would have to be enough for now.

Neither of them was in the mood to cook so they picked up takeout on the way home. Kate was concerned about him pushing himself too much but she could only convince him to rest periodically, he would still force his senses out once in a while. At least he had found nothing so it appeared there would be no immediate reaction to what they had done.

He'd been thinking of heading to bed for several minutes but was reluctant to let his guard down. However, the headache that defied the painkillers he'd taken was convincing him that he'd have to give into Kate's suggestion soon. He wasn't going to do her any good if he drove himself right into the ground. Despite his abilities, he did have limits and it would be foolish not to concede that fact.

His cell phone rang and he stared at it for a moment when he saw an unfamiliar number. Could this be Roy's friend finally contacting him? He glanced at Kate who was giving him a curious look when he answered in speakerphone mode. "Castle"

"Mr. Castle, you don't know me but I am a friend of Roy Montgomery's."

"He told me about you if you're the one he sent the file to. I've been wondering what is going on." As Rick listened to the response he hurriedly brought up an app and started it, which earned him another curious look from his girlfriend.

"I am that friend and I was making some progress in the negotiations when suddenly all hell broke loose. They say you have to stand down immediately or they'll come for her again or actually, both of you. They were very specific about that."

"It's a little late for that. Any deal you might have negotiated would be temporary. They have a history of only honoring deals as long as it suits them. Senator Bracken is the one who should worry now. We're coming for him." The silence on the other end lasted so long Rick was about to ask if he was still there when a reply finally came through.

"How did you find out?"

"Kate is a detective and we both have sources. He messed up sending a sniper to a cop's funeral, he only has himself to blame."

"I see. I hope you know what you are getting yourselves into."

"What we need is evidence. Send me that envelope and you can consider your promise to Roy as paid in full."

"I've been through it. It's iffy that it would be enough to withstand the defense that a man like him can afford."

"That's our concern. Just send us the file, we'll take it from there."

The man on the other end sighed before responding. "You'll have it tomorrow. Good luck."

"Thanks."

The call abruptly ended and Rick waited a few seconds before getting another call, which he answered before holding it up to his ear. "Castle" An unfamiliar voice gave him information about the source of the call he'd just received. They gave him the most likely address and the margin of error and hung up. He looked at Kate who was giving him an amused look.

"Let me guess: you know a guy who traced that call for you."

"Don't let anyone ever get away with telling you that you're not a great detective. You're right, of course. I probably won't need it but here is the address in case we do." He wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to her and after she glanced at it he continued. "They are sure to a radius of 20 yards so that's probably the exact address if we need it. The file is probably full of stuff implicating Roy so I'm not sure what parts of it might be useful."

"Yeah. I just hope our little plan works."

He massaged his temples when his headache gave him a reminder that it was still around and she took his arm and started leading him to their bedroom. "You need to go to bed."

He gave her a smirk as he asked, "Will you be joining me?"

"Down boy. You need your sleep. If you don't take it easy, nothing will be happening tomorrow either."

He pretended to pout but her eye roll convinced him she was serious. Oh well, he was tired and she did have a point. She got ready for bed at the same time he did and when she cuddled into him, it did relax and reassure him so he fell asleep contented.


	17. Wild Heat

A/N: This is where things start to hit the fan. Still not mine.

She was relieved when Rick finally fell asleep and she kept still so he would stay that way. She wasn't tired yet but she knew he'd have trouble sleeping without her or at least that is how it was for her without him. He'd seemed happy to have her with him so she felt that she'd done the correct thing.

Unfortunately, this left her with time to worry. Ever since he had come clean with her she had taken him for granted as some sort of invincible superhero and she felt bad that she hadn't noticed him overextending himself until it was too late. On the other hand, he wasn't invulnerable and maybe he really did need her. He'd been convincing that he loved her but it did her pride a little good that she could help him too. She eventually drifted off into pleasant dreams.

The next day was mostly boring but she did have a brief interesting conversation with Gates about the fact that Simmons was missing. Apparently, the task force found that intriguing and since Kate had brought up something related, she had asked for Kate's opinion on the development. Maybe her new Captain really did respect her after all.

When they returned to the loft, a large envelope was waiting for them and they went through it. There were a series of bank drafts to an account that may or may not be traceable to Bracken and that was unfortunately the most probative evidence of anything criminal. Since a good attorney would come up with some reasonable alternative explanation for the money transfers, it wasn't the goldmine of evidence that she'd hoped for. The only people that would go to jail from what they had were already dead.

That night, they worked off their frustrations together in a much more pleasurable way before finally falling asleep and the good mood still resonated in her as she got ready for work. Her cell rang and when she saw it was from dispatch she was relieved that it would be a more interesting day, despite the fact this meant someone was dead.

"Beckett"

"You have a new case. It's an unidentified male Caucasian at 150 Barrow Street. It's an abandoned building called the Keller Hotel. Go right up to the fifth floor. Esposito and Ryan are on the way."

"Got it, thanks."

The call abruptly ended and Kate gave it an irritated look. She expected professional but that was pretty abrupt. Rick was working on breakfast so she called out. "Better make it a quick one! We have a body!"

"OK! Coffee's ready and eggs and bacon are almost ready!"

He had her cup full and ready for her and she grabbed the plate he'd just finished loading and headed for the table before beginning to wolf down her food. She and Rick were past the point of trying to be polite around each other, sometimes her schedule required speed. They were on their way in her cruiser just minutes later.

When they got there, she saw there was some yellow police tape in front of the door, which was ajar and unguarded. She wasn't sure but it seemed odd but after exchanging a wary look with Rick, she kept right on going. Naturally, the elevator wasn't working so they went up the stairs.

When they got to the fifth floor, they were still alone so she called out, "Espo? Ryan?"

She heard a voice say "Here!" from the left but it didn't sound like either of them. She exchanged another look with Rick and she could see him focusing on their destination. He whispered, "There are three men, none of them familiar, two together and armed and one further back, alone. We were also watched when we arrived by two guys from across the street."

"Ambush?"

"Doesn't seem that way, they are all calm and waiting. I'll act quickly if that changes."

She triggered her recording device and as they came to an open door he muttered "showtime" in her ear. She tried not to look tense but she knew this was it. If Rick sensed immediate danger, she knew he'd have warned her so she tried to play the part of an unsuspecting victim. They entered and naturally looked at the person most visible at the far side of the room. She felt a presence behind her as another man stepped forward with his gun pointed at Castle's head.

A voice came from behind her. "No funny business or your boyfriend takes one to the head." She felt him take her service weapon and she concentrated on glaring at the man ahead of her.

"Hello Senator Bracken."

"Detective Beckett, I'd say it's a pleasure but I don't have time for pleasantries. How did you know it was me?"

"I have my sources."

"I'm afraid I'll need a little more detail. Do you really want to do this the hard way?"

"Did you talk to my mother before you killed her?"

"I didn't kill your mother. You know very well that it was the late Mr. Coonan who did that."

"It doesn't matter whether you did it personally or not, her blood is on your hands. You hired Coonan like you hired these two goons."

He looked at her speculatively before raising a phone he'd been holding up to his ear. "Still clear?"

He must have gotten the answer he wanted as he focused on them again. "I'm a busy man. These two men have drugs that will make you talk. If you make them use them, you get to spend more time with them until the chemicals are out of your system. They can do whatever they want to you that won't involve leaving evidence behind. The man you so impetuously approached is dead and the evidence will come back to you. Don't worry, we didn't make you look like an amateur, we were subtle."

He gave her an unnerving grin that she didn't react to so he dropped it and gave her a glare. "You and your boyfriend here will be a murder-suicide and you'll have enough alcohol in you to make you out as a drunk. Your father will be so disappointed."

She tried not to show it but his mention of her father worried her. She decided to keep silent and not goad him further. She had enough, she wouldn't push her luck.

Bracken appeared disappointed as he turned to address the henchman closest to him. "Make sure you keep things clean and get me whatever intel you get right away. Check them for any recording devices, they seem a little too confident to me."

The man nodded and they pushed Kate and Rick out of the way as Bracken departed. They separated them and the man with Rick kept his gun trained on his head and was more concerned with Kate than Rick. She knew that would just make it even easier for Rick and she looked at Rick as he winked at her as if to say 'it's a piece of cake'.

The man with Kate took her cuffs from her belt and their exchange seemed to catch the attention of the man with Castle as he stared at him. Rick turned to look at the man holding a gun at his head and smiled at him. Kate began to grin too as she knew this whole thing was almost over.

The man with Rick had killed before, that was no big deal to him. He had even killed a cop before, no worries. However, he had never held a gun on a man who just smirked back at him as if he didn't have a care in the world. Was this man crazy or did this man know something that he should know?


	18. Raging Heat

A/N: I've heard from some of you that you didn't like where I broke the last chapter. Hopefully you'll forgive me after you read this chapter. ;-) Still not mine.

It had been bad enough when the guy had been grinning at him but suddenly the guy was gone. Then he noticed that his gun was gone too. What the hell? Then he heard a thump that made him turn towards where his partner had been with the cop. His partner was lying on the floor, apparently unconscious and his guy and the cop were both pointing guns at him. He wasn't as stupid as he looked, he knew what was next as he raised his hands in surrender. This day sure was turning out to be a bad one. He'd been looking forward to having some fun, now he was busted and he had no idea how it had happened.

While Kate covered the conscious man, Rick cuffed the unconscious man, put on some gloves and quickly relieved him of several interesting items secreted about his clothing. He took a zip tie from his pocket and firmly tied the conscious man's wrists together behind him. He didn't have nearly as much of interest other than a nasty looking knife.

Rick removed his gloves and grabbed the conscious man by the back of his head as he started talking to Beckett. "I had my recorder going, how about you?"

He saw momentary confusion appear on her face before she caught on and replied, "Of course." Rick paid attention as the man thought about what they'd have on him and it was a nice summary of what he wanted to know. He also got some images of what the man had wanted to do to Kate as he had looked at her earlier. He was so tempted to put more pressure on his grip but didn't want to take any chances on messing up their case. He got distracted as the man wondered if the others outside would come to his aid but when he pushed his senses out, he couldn't find them anymore. They must have left their former location to follow Bracken. He was pretty sure he recognized the sounds from one of the men in the car with Bracken.

He relaxed and saw Kate giving him a curious look. "They seem to be leaving already. We should have no problem catching him unaware later. He'll have no idea his plan has failed." Her predatory grin made him smile too. This was going to be fun.

Fortunately, the unconscious prisoner came around just before they arrived at the precinct so it was easy to get them booked. Rick was amused by how incredulous he was to find himself under arrest. However, things slowed down considerably once they talked to Gates. She insisted on getting the leading members of the task force informed in person after listening to both of their recordings even though they were identical. She also questioned them about the contact Bracken referred to and seemed satisfied with Kate's explanation of following a lead they got from Narcotics. They had agreed on the story earlier so she denied knowing in advance that the ringleader was Bracken and put it off as his own paranoia plus buffing on her part when she saw the situation.

Later, he could see some hostility from the task force leader so he went aside to call the Chief of Detectives and it turned out he was already on his way. The Chief cleared the way for Kate to be the arresting officer and the members of the task force shut up. When they found out that Senator Bracken was meeting some party officials at a nearby hotel, almost everybody converged on the vehicles for the trip. It seemed everybody wanted to be there to share in the big arrest.

The Chief came with them so Rick ceded the passenger seat to him and sat behind Kate. The Chief was very impressed at how they handled themselves. Rick was forced to take credit for disarming his assailant first which allowed Kate to take down her distracted assailant. That is how they had decided to explain it after Kate insisted on him getting more of the credit, especially since he actually took care of both of them.

They gathered outside the conference room that their quarry was in and they had to shoo nervous hotel staff away to keep things quiet. Rick stayed back, which seemed to irritate Kate a bit but the head of the task force really wanted to be up front with her. Rick was slightly disturbed to find himself near Gates but she seemed to be more interested on keep an eye on developments rather than paying any attention to him, which suited him just fine.

Two uniformed officers opened the doors and stationed themselves there as Kate, the task force head and the ones following them trooped into the room. Despite not being in front, Rick was able to track the various reactions of the people in the room. He recognized some of the people in the room and the rest must be aides of some sort. Most of the occupants looked at the police with astonishment or even irritation in a few cases of the more famous of them. However, the reaction that Rick liked the best was Bracken's. He looked as white as a sheet and his mouth hung open uselessly as he stared at Detective Beckett as she approached him.

"Senator Bracken, you are under arrest for seven counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy. Stand up and turn around."

Bracken remained in place, simply staring at her in shock. Finally Kate had had enough and she spoke again. "Senator, if you fail to cooperate, we'll be adding resisting arrest to the charges."

Bracken reacted with a blush and then a glare but he slowly stood up and turned around. Kate cuffed him and the head of the task force finally made himself useful as he grasped Bracken's other arm and they both led him from the room. Bracken finally spoke as they got into the hall. "I want to see my lawyer. I have nothing to say to any of you."

"You need more than a good lawyer for this, Bracken." Rick sensed Bracken's fury mixed with fear after Kate's reply but he never turned and just continued to go where they guided him so Rick simply followed along.

Kate declined the invitation to ride in the van with Bracken and as her eyes sought Rick's he felt he knew why. She clasped his hand tightly but quickly let go again, apparently reluctant to do any more with so many witnesses around. After murmured congratulations once again, even the Chief found some other vehicle and it was just Kate and Rick in her cruiser. As soon as she was out into traffic, her right hand was out seeking his and she kept a tight grip the entire way back.

He could tell she was barely keeping her composure at first but eventually she was more in control. Gates called the four of them into her office and she said that as soon as their paperwork was done, they had the next two days off with her thanks. Rick had given statements before so he quickly typed it out and sent it to one of their printers for Kate's review. Ryan and Esposito didn't have much paperwork to do and their offer of help was declined since there wasn't much they could do anyway. Kate sent them on their way so she and Rick could concentrate and they took it with humor as intended.

Kate had Rick change one part and add some more in another and they both turned their paperwork in to Gates. She scanned through them and seemed satisfied. She promised to contact them only if absolutely necessary and sent them home. Kate got them there as quickly as she could, practically dragged Rick to their bedroom and gave Rick the most intense experience of his life. He had absolutely no complaints.

* * *

Rick watched as Vulcan Simmons reluctantly followed his instructions and carried his recordings with him towards the 12th precinct still over a block away. He waited until Simmons looked back over his shoulder and smiled to see him shudder at finding himself watched. Since he was still worried about cameras catching a masked man lurking near Simmons, he quickly jumped to the top of the building and continued to watch from the roof. He smiled again when he saw Simmons do a double take after looking back the way he had come.

Although Simmons' heartbeat started to slow a bit, Rick could still sense his anxiety as he approached the 12th as if he were approaching the gallows. In a way, Rick could sympathize as Simmons was really in a bad spot but he'd make his own choices and he now had to live with them. Facing prosecution was preferable to him than being 'hunted down' by the masked man who'd been holding him prisoner.

* * *

Rick couldn't believe the Chief and the Mayor were doing this to him. He was proud to be with Kate when she was presented with the NYPD Medal for Valor but he was standing up in front with her and received his civilian commendation next. He felt they had laid it on a little thick with their rhetoric about what he'd done but Kate acted so proud of him that he did his best to play the role of grateful recipient.

It didn't hurt that his mother was in front smiling at him proudly as she sat next to Kate's father Jim, who looked equally proud. Both parents made it clear they were proud of both of them and he was glad that they were all getting along so well. In fact Esposito, Lanie, Ryan and Jenny were right next to them like a supportive family and in a way that is exactly what they were. Even though Rick was keeping secrets from most of them, he felt closer to them than he had to anyone else ever. He was also glad that Kate had so much support as well. Everybody needs friends and family and they shared some very good ones.


	19. Final Heat

A/N: We're near the end, only an epilogue after this. Thanks for all of the support. The usual disclaimer still applies.

She tried to focus on breathing more slowly and deeply but it wasn't working out as well as she hoped. Kate Beckett was nervous and after sneaking peeks at Rick who just smiled back at her she gave up and grabbed his hand. She didn't like seeming needy but she just felt better with some physical contact and already her heart was beginning to slow down. It was weird but she hadn't been this nervous when they faced Bracken and his thugs to get the evidence against him. This was in no way a life threatening situation but it was just hard for her to remain calm.

She reminded herself that she had chosen Dr. Burke herself from a list provided by the NYPD and after a lot of research. He was very experienced in dealing with the stress in a police officer's life, came highly recommended and was recognized as one of the preeminent therapists in all of the state of New York. Trying to focus on that didn't help a bit though as all she could think about was what they'd have to discuss. She was going to be so bad at this.

"Dr. Burke will see you now."

She startled but tried to stifle it and the receptionist was kind enough to pretend not to notice. She let Rick set the pace as she really wasn't that anxious to start. It wasn't that she didn't want to do it, she did. She wanted to be able to be a better girlfriend and eventually a wife. She wanted the one and done that she had thought about since she was a girl. She just wished that seeing a therapist wasn't necessary but she was afraid that it was.

Although Rick seemed a little distracted when they first entered the office and met Dr. Burke, he went first being the gentleman that he is. She managed to calm herself down and participated as needed, especially when she eagerly seconded their objective of having a strong relationship. She became less focused on herself when Rick revealed the loneliness of his childhood and about how he had learned to distance himself from others. Suddenly, holding hands was her trying to offer him support instead of the other way around.

Unfortunately, the moment she had dreaded was there and she needed to reveal what her concerns were. Talking about her mother's murder was easier than before, somehow having the answers had helped but it also made it easier that Dr. Burke was well aware of the case because of all of the headlines that story had generated. Listening to Rick bare his soul and his hand in hers, helped her talk about her more personal issues although she did falter a couple of times.

She was relieved when Dr. Burke expressed little concern about their relationship based on what he had just seen and heard. He did recommend individual sessions though and she got the distinct impression that she'd end up in his office a lot more than Rick. It wasn't exactly a shock but it was disappointing. Because of all of the meetings and paperwork the Bracken case was still generating, she hadn't been able to take off the whole day and they had to head back to the precinct. She was glad that Rick had no overt reaction to her silence while she drove them back, she just had a lot to process. Actually, it looked like he had a lot to process as well, he was thinking hard about something.

* * *

When they entered the bullpen, she saw her captain talking to someone unfamiliar, probably another in the long line of feds they had to deal with lately. She saw Gates make note of her presence and she got the feeling that she wanted to talk to her. Since they were still in the middle of their discussion she just continued to her desk while Rick said something about making coffee and proceeded on into the break room.

A few minutes later she saw the discussion break up out of the corner of her eye and the Captain started to approach her desk as the stranger left. She didn't pretend to be unaware as she looked up and greeted Gates.

"How did it go, Detective?"

Great, now she was curious about her sessions with her shrink. "It went well, Sir. Did you need me for something?"

"No, I just wanted to share something with you and your… partner."

She caught the hesitation but she appreciated that Gates finally seemed to be acknowledging how she viewed her professional association with Castle. It was relief to see her boyfriend approaching with two cups and a quizzical look at the Captain, which she didn't dare react to.

"Ah, there you are Mr. Castle. I was just telling your partner that I had news. It seems that although Simmons is cooperating, he also seems intent on building an insanity defense for himself. The DA is a little frustrated and feels forced to minimize his testimony. He won't make a credible witness with some of the nonsense he's claiming."

Rick exchanged a curious but subdued look with her and she decided that they really needed to hear more. "What sort of nonsense would that be, Sir?"

"He claims to have been kidnapped by a man who can leap up to and between buildings while carrying someone else and that he has a female accomplice. It also involves masks and voice distorters, the whole thing is rather bizarre. They'll still use the recordings he brought, they help on the conspiracy, drug and tax evasion charges. He still wants the deal with the DA so he is cooperating otherwise."

Kate carefully avoided looking at Rick before answering. "I've heard a lot of stories that they come up with to avoid prosecution but I'll admit that is one of the stranger ones."

"I'll let you get back to your paperwork then, I have plenty of my own." Gates nodded to Kate and then Rick and quickly returned to her office.

She pretended to focus on her paperwork while keeping an eye on the Captain until she had entered her office and sat down. She then looked at Rick and saw him looking at her with a slight smirk. She gave him a pretend glare back that at least diminished the smirk although traces remained. She rolled her eyes and gave him a brief smirk back before really returning her focus to her report.

She was brought out of her concentration when Rick asked a question. "Did you ever look inside the big elephant?"

She gave him a stunned look but then followed his line of sight to the elephants adorning her desk. At least she now knew where the elephant came in. "What do you mean? If they can be opened, it's news to me."

"I can see the crease where it opens."

She gave him a curious look and watched him take the elephants and begin trying to pull apart the largest of them. He had great strength to go along with his great vision so she began to become concerned. On the other hand, he already knew what they meant to her so she didn't want to make it sound like she thought he was careless so she kept her mouth shut.

Suddenly it popped open and a piece came flying at her and bounced to a stop right in front of her. She opened her mouth to admonish him but stopped when she looked down to see a microcassette. She stared at it dumbfounded for a few seconds until she raised her head to look at an equally surprised Rick and she finally realized her mouth was still hanging open and she closed it before speaking again.

"Do you have a way to play it?"

"I think so but if I threw it out, I'll get another."

She nodded and tried to slip the tape in her purse as unobtrusively as possible. Since they knew that the recording they'd been looking for was made by Montgomery, she wasn't sure she wanted to share it with anyone. They could decide that once they listened to it – together.


	20. Epilogue

A/N: We have reached the end of this story but I am working on a sequel. Don't expect to see it anytime soon though. Like I said in the summary, I'm not a very fast writer. Still not mine.

He had no idea how long he stared at the results on his screen before he became aware of his environment once again. Now he has some idea of how his father must have felt when he had told him that he was going to study Exobiology. For a few minutes, he'd thought that he'd be disowned on the spot. Later, when he chose to specialize in psychology with a minor in anthropology, it was met with more like a shrug from his father.

Nonetheless, this was big. Bigger than disappointing your father by not following in his footsteps. Bigger than defying what your race considered the only honorable choice of profession for a healthy young male. This might even have consequences for his entire race. To think he'd put his scanner in his office to see who lied and who told the truth, who was taking his meds and who was taking drugs. That seemed so frivolous and useless now.

However, one thing had become clear to him in his time lost in contemplation. He could not risk exposing the secret of Richard Castle to his people. All he needed was for some young warrior with more hubris than sense to come challenge Richard Castle with his Bat'leth. After Richard Castle killed him, his people's existence would be exposed to all of the humans and it would be too dangerous for him to remain on earth to continue his work.

The surgery he'd had endure to pass as human would all be for naught. All of the information he was gathering on this fascinating species would stop. This would go beyond any personal tragedy for himself, the humans of Earth becoming aware of his people prematurely could be a disaster. Certainly his people had more advanced technology but these humans showed incredible capacity to advance quickly. Despite their lack of focus on being warriors, they showed almost frightening abilities as wily and determined foes.

He didn't know how many of his kind were scattered among the stars now but he knew that the number of humans on earth vastly outnumbered the number of his kind on the main worlds of their empire. Despite their ferocity, humans were much more tolerant of being crowded with their own kind than were his own people. If his people populated this city of New York, about half of them would die in a day from all of fighting. No, he did not want humans as an enemy, he'd known that for years.

What he saw now in his scans of Richard Castle brought a whole new dimension to the possible threat of humans. Were there more like Richard Castle? He'd rarely ventured outside this city and he met only a handful of people compared to how many were in just this one city on this planet. Even if humans such as Richard Castle were rare, their abilities could make up for low numbers. A war with humans would not be glorious, it could be a blow that his people would struggle to recover from for generations.

How had humans come into contact with Changelings? He had no idea where their domain was but he knew it was impossibly far away with current technology. They only knew of the existence of the Changeling race because of the wormhole they had found but even that was far away. It had been a hard lesson for his people to guard that wormhole, not just to make sure the Changelings didn't insert themselves into this part of the galaxy but to keep the stupid young warriors from going through to provoke them. They'd probably learned a lot about his people from the bodies and ships that had been lost before wiser heads had prevailed.

Despite what he'd learned from his scans, he had no idea if Richard Castle was a first generation hybrid or if he'd inherited the alien DNA that was in every cell of his body. It had come out that he was an only child but was his mother or father a hybrid? Could this have all started before his race had discovered the wormhole?

It wasn't just that they'd had no idea that a Changeling could merge with another species like this. He also didn't understand why that would happen. All of what he knew about Changelings suggested that they had contempt for beings like himself and humans calling them "Solids" with derision. For one thing, they lost a lot of their abilities by doing this. Of course the hybrid had some interesting characteristics as well.

Richard Castle was not by any stretch of the imagination a normal human. His muscles and bones suggested greater strength and speed than any species that he was aware of. There were also strange changes to his sensory organs and similar changes within his nervous system as well. Was his nervous system itself now capable of direct perception? If so, of what? A chilling possibility occurred to him, could Richard Castle read minds?

Richard Castle had seemed distracted at first. Had he realized that the therapist they were seeing was not human? Had he somehow sensed that he was being scanned? Had he seen inside his mind? He hoped that Richard Castle did not consider him a threat. He'd deliberately not taken any weapons with him when he'd come to Earth so he'd be no match for him. Even if he'd had a disruptor with him, would he be able to use it quickly enough to kill the hybrid? He didn't know for sure but he didn't think the answer would be good for him.

He'd already decided that he needed more sessions with the female than with the hybrid and told them that. He'd have little opportunity to interact with Richard Castle and he now wasn't anxious to either. If he somehow provoked the hybrid, he'd be dead and his body falling into the hands of one of their coroners would not be something he cared to contemplate.

The fact that he had not objected to private meetings between him and his mate indicated that all was well for now or at least that he wasn't considered a threat. In fact there were some changes in his mate as well. Some of the odd fluids in Richard Castle's body also now existed in his mate's body although she had no capacity for producing them herself. He knew how that exchange of fluids must have happened but dared not think about it too much. He'd had to remain celibate for all his years on this planet as their females were too fragile for him to have sex with. This Kate Beckett might be the only human female capable of walking away from a session with him. He could not seriously consider that though as not only would she be unwilling, he definitely did not wish to anger Richard Castle. No, that wouldn't do at all.


End file.
